Growing Up Pains

At 6 years old, my eldest boy has his first milk tooth extracted. It was not his first trip to the dentist but was the first time to have 2 injections of anaesthesia and then an extraction. He did not shed a tear but did yell a little. The dentist is an old friend and handled it without causing anxiety for the boy.

He complained of toothache more than a week ago. When I checked, I was horrified to see an adult tooth growing behind one of his lower incisor. It was ready to replace the milk tooth that was still hanging on. He grinned when he heard that his new tooth was growing out. He has been witnessing his classmates losing their milk teeth, and probably has been wondering when his turn will come.

His little incisor became a little wobbly after that and he was determined to have it 'dropped out'. So, despite his pain, he went on to eat meat, vegetables and apples. I was encouraging him and kept telling him that I was certain that it will come out soon. But, he suffered the pain for a whole week. We were hoping that it will drop off on its own. I was not aware that a milk tooth could take so long to drop off, especially when it was wobbling quite badly. I remembered that my late grandmother was the one who pulled out most of my milk teeth, and those of my siblings. No, she was not a dentist. It all seemed so simple. And I have heard about people tying one end of the string to the tooth and the other end to the door, and what? Slamming the door to pull out the tooth? I thought that was a joke but apparently it was used in some ancient generation. Would I pull out my child's tooth? Oh surely not. I don't have the courage to inflict such pain on him. I cringed upon seeing the doctor putting the needle in his mouth although he was not aware of the injections given to him until it was all over.

The good news is that his tooth was out, and he now presents a toothless grin. The bad news is that he will probably need braces to correct the alignment now that the first adult tooth has grown out of line.

The younger boy watched with interest at how his brother fussed over his wobbly milk tooth as well as the process of extraction. At one point, I was concerned that he will be witnessing a traumatic moment that will cause him to be afraid when his turn comes eventually. It was a good thing the eldest has responded bravely.

Growing up pains indeed.

Oh yes, he is saving his little tooth that has served him for the last 6 years. If I am right, that was also his first tooth that grew out!