The Tooth

Over the past week, we noticed that Ella's right front tooth seemed to look a bit gray. Every other tooth looked fine, just one pearly gray.

After calling the dentist, I was quickly told that a gray tooth equals a dead tooth and that I needed to bring her in to have it pulled. No need to X-Ray, but the tooth needs to come out before it can damage the surrounding teeth.

We usually let Ella and Aidan brush their teeth first, and then take over. But, as anyone who has ever tried to stick a toothbrush into a toddler's mouth will tell you, brushing the teeth of a large octopus is easier than trying to clean the mouth of a 2-year-old. Could the gray tooth be all my fault? Will my poor little girl actually lose one of her front teeth? How can they make that decision without even seeing her?

After making a few calls and polling other Moms, I called Laxer, Long & Savage, one of the best and most popular pediatric dentists in Charlotte.

We were given an immediate appointment and told that a gray tooth does NOT necessarily mean a dead tooth and that an X-Ray was imperative - it must be done in order to determine any potential root or nerve damage.

So, as I waited for the appointment, I turned to the internet.

Thank you, Google! I typed in "two year old gray tooth" and got 5 million pages of results. Yikes! I refined my search parameters and began researching the sudden appearance of a gray tooth in a 2-year-old. Here is what I learned:

1. I am not a bad mother. Gray-toothed children are a common sight.

2. I am a bad mother. A gray tooth is always the result of trauma to the tooth.

3. Wait, I am not a bad mother. Kids are kids, and "trauma" can mean a simple bump to the mouth sustained during normal play.

4. I am an ignorant mother. A gray tooth will usually show up a few weeks after the initial injury.

5. I am a preemptively-worrisome mother. We will know after six months whether this gray tooth is here to stay. Sometimes a gray tooth will return to its normal white color.

6. I am an obsessive-compulsive tooth-checking mother. Even if the gray color turns out to be permanent, the tooth itself should be normal in every other way until it loosens and falls out at the proper time. Unless it develops an abscess. I'm to look for a small pimple on the gum—ew, gross—which is a sign of infection. Fortunately, the chance of an abscess developing is rare.

A little bit to digest all of the sudden, don't you think?

So, yesterday I look Ella (and Aidan) to see our new dentist. It was a busy place full of children everywhere, but we were seen almost immediately, much to Aidan's dismay - he barely had enough time to touch one of the trucks in the play area before we were called back!

Ella got an X-Ray taken - well, I should say "we" got an X-Ray. The only way she would sit still was if she was on my lap. So we sat while Aidan stood outside the door screaming for me and yelling "No, I don't want to..I don't want a turn!".

Then it was back to the private exam room where the crying really began. However; the hygenist was wonderful and gave Ella and Aidan each a latex glove to play with (more on the gloves later!) and a few stickers.

Within minutes Dr. Laxer came in and she was so good with Ella. She had Ella spelling her name and singing her ABC's within seconds and Aidan even joined us on the exam chair for a few songs!

As it turns out, the X-Ray showed absolutely no damage to the roots or the nerves and she feels that it is most likely just a bruise. We do need to watch for any signs of infection, so we will just keep our fingers crossed until their next appointment in June.

And so we left - with stickers, balloons and a mouthful of teeth!

Remember the gloves?

After lunch I heard it get really quiet in the playroom. I came out of the laundry room to find this:

How funny! Ella even told Aidan to say "Ahh"!