First Visit to the Dentist

Getting all dressed up for x-rays.

I wish I could say Anna's first visit to the dentist was a planned one. Last night after bath time, Anna sat on the potty with wet feet. After emptying the potty, she decided to take a seat again, only this time, when she tried to stand up, she slipped and pivoted forward (hands resting on the front of the potty), and she landed square on her chin with all of her weight behind the fall. At first glance, it appeared she just scraped up her chin, but we soon realized there was blood from a gum laceration and a front bottom tooth looking suspiciously out of place.

After the bleeding slowed and medicine started working, Anna finally fell asleep. An hour or so after calling our dentist's after-hours emergency number and hearing nothing, I found a pediatric dentist online. She actually answered the phone, spoke with me on the spot, and said she definitely wanted to see Anna as soon as possible. So, off we went this morning, hoping that Daddy and Mo Do's company and our Elmo-visits-the-dentist book would ease this first visit under less-than-ideal circumstances.

Whether it was Elmo or all of the talk about Daddy visiting the dentist yesterday, something worked. Anna was incredibly brave and strong, even when she was a bit scared. In general, the news from the dentist was good; she expects it to heal fine, albeit out of place. The bone and tooth are not damaged, and as far as she can tell, there is no damage to the adult tooth underneath. She did try to push it back in place, twice, and Anna only cried with the second, apparently uncomfortable, attempt. We go back in one month, three months, and again in six months, as the dentist wants to ensure it heals properly and doesn't get infected. The not-so-fun news is that the ligament holding the tooth in place is obviously loose, so every time the tooth has pressure on it, it moves around and bleeds, slowing the healing process. And, this happens when she nurses. So, we're trying to get through today without it, which will probably be the most challenging part of the entire process.

Seriously, while Anna was pretty shaken up last night, she really handled the pain and the scare remarkably well, better than her mommy, no doubt. The dentist visit went better than I could have imagined, due in no small part to plenty of preparation, Elmo, and the kind, accommodating dentist who took us in as a new patient at the very last minute. Thanks to Ann Arbor Pediatric Dentistry.

Picking out a toy and a sticker after the hard work is done.