Well, two out of three kiddos strutted out of their biannual dentist checkup with shiny new cavity appointments—so what better way to spend spring break than scheduling three separate dental procedures? I can think of plenty of things… but hey, at least we were productive!
Harper was up first, needing two separate appointments for cavities on either side of her bottom molars. To my surprise, she was both excited and a little nervous—though mostly thrilled to have a medical appointment all to herself, without her sisters tagging along. The wonderful dental hygienist explained the entire procedure beforehand and even let her use the light for a tiny practice filling on her hand. That little blip became a prized possession- one I had to keep track of throughout the visit- and is now safely tucked away in the treasure box by her bed.
She followed all directions, held still as the “sugar bugs” were removed, and didn’t peek when told to shut her eyes (for the Novocaine!); she held my hand and didn’t flinch at all, entirely chill. Puppy also joined the event for moral support and snuggled under the blanket the entire time. The laughing gas definitely helped take the edge off, but took a bit to take effect and she was goofy waiting for it to kick in. Harper was mostly concerned about bad tasting stuff like the previous visit’s sealants, and reported the air running through her nose smelled good, like cherries. Overall, fantastic attitude from the youngun the entire time, and lots of thumbs up when asked by the dentist. One down!
While running a few errands after school pickup, Harper suddenly decided it was time for that first wiggly front tooth to vacate the premises. With a dramatic twist (pun intended!!), just as the dentist had mostly jokingly suggested a couple of hours earlier- out it came in the car. Seriously, my kids have a thing with pulling teeth at inopportune times in the car! And no hesitation, just hollering for a tissue and yelling about blood, while this poor driver reminded her not to drop it. Just one quick twist, and boom– tooth gone. The first thing out of her mouth (besides the tooth? Ha.)? Reagan! Now we look like twins! Mon, now I look like Reagan! As if they didn’t already have identical faces. The main, obvious visual difference between the two since middle toddler years was Reagan cracking and losing her top tooth, so it’s fitting the same one came out first to match. And honestly, it’s not like some of the kids they know don’t tell them apart by dental records at this point…but not so much now. Emerie is extremely displeased to not be in the “twin club” (even funnier since she and Harper are technically twins) and really hoping to push out her same top tooth any day now and catch up.
And how did she catch up??? Instead, as if I didn’t have enough dentist visits this month, we scheduled one more unplanned one to assess her sagging front tooth from a toy to the face, a tooth that turned black within a few days, but was still dangling strong from her gum-line. At least, holding strong enough for resistance from an adult trying to yank it out. Emerie was convinced the dentist wanted to take it at the appointment, meaning her face plant and butt in the air on the seat and hiding from him. Superrrr fun. His very short lived assessment after a quick x-ray gave us the green light for the ENT to remove the tooth while under anesthesia the following day.
I should also mention the newest household villain: the Tooth Fairy. Once a magical figure ensuing joy and excitement, she is now viewed as a thief lurking in the night, ready to snatch possessions that don’t belong to her, such as the freshly evicted front tooth. No amount of money was deemed acceptable after much discussion. After taking said tooth and container on a bike ride to show the neighbors down the street (one of our last days before snow returned), this valuable treasure needed a bodyguard and she entrusted me -her ever-reliable mother- with its protection. That was two weeks ago; and the tooth still sits on my nightstand, untouched by distrusted fairy hands, and receiving daily visits from its rightful owner. Harper checks on it like a rare museum artifact, making sure it hasn’t mysteriously disappeared. And at this point, I think I’m more scared of losing it than she is. Yep, #realtalk.
Emerie’s tooth eviction followed uneventfully with her tonsillectomy and has secured another safe location to avoid that damn tooth fairy, and now I have a new job to add to my resume- a watcher and protector of random front teeth…
The day after Emerie’s surgery Harper was up again for her second filling and met with continual thumbs up, like it was no big deal for such a grown up six-year-old who hates brushing her teeth. She certainly loves the attention, happily picked out some chap stick afterwards and enjoyed a fruit drink to celebrate good behavior, because nothing says good dental behavior like a sugary treat right?!
The following day Reagan was up for her first filing and my last health related appointment for the week, thankfully. Unlike her “full-speed-ahead” sister, Reagan approached the situation cautiously. She gripped my hand tightly, showing her nerves, and while she didn’t dish out any enthusiastic thumbs-ups, she faced it all with quiet determination. The Novocain part was especially stressing- no dramatic reactions or peeking, but plenty of squeaking and turmoil I could feel through her tiny fingers. Her panda joined for the entire visit and the first request was a sugar free lollipop and chap stick for her trouble. While this visit had no happy thumbs-ups or post-filling happiness, she did exactly what was asked of her, following every direction to the letter- because rules are rule and Reagan is certainly great at following them.
Now I’d like to avoid the dentist for a bit, and keep on those pesky kids to brush, brush, brush! My brain still hasn’t fully caught up to the fact that everyone now sports a holy front smile—not just Reagan. For years, she was the lone gap toothed wonder and now suddenly, it’s all three. Also interesting that Reagan and Harper are rocking identical holes and I can’t help but wonder which tooth Reagan would have lost first naturally, had she not cracked it and needed it pulled. Same goes for Emerie, who probably would’ve followed suit with her sisters… had a toy (and sibling) not intervened and made the decision for her gums. And just when I thought our tooth saga would slow FOR THE WEEK, Harper sprinted up to me at school pickup today, flashing a huge smile; and now missing both front teeth. The second one made its grand exit this afternoon at school (at least it wasn’t the car??). And where, you ask, is that second tooth currently? Oh, you know, safely tucked away in another plastic bag, because the big, bad Tooth Fairy will NOT be sneaking off with it overnight. No amount of bedtime discussion could change her mind. That tooth is HERS and the Tooth Fairy can keep her money.
And with that, the Tooth Fairy remains the enemy in our household—and our house is rapidly becoming a tooth museum -or possibly burial ground- a place where lost teeth aren’t treasures to trade… they’re trophies to keep.
I’ll end on what was a current “holey” triplet photo, until about six hours ago that is…
❤
The Douglets 