Today was judgment day - for Ella's grey tooth, that is. A little bit of background - Ella is our injury-prone child. She sported a gorgeously greenish-blue shiner for her first birthday (courtesy of the spastic dog I mentioned) and by the time she was 15 months old she had manged to chip out a good portion of one of her front teeth, literally in a matter of two seconds. We were on our way out the door to go to an appointment and in leaving the house, Ella fell off the ONE step we had in the house at the time, flat on her face, and that was all it took. Of course, I was devastated and could think only of getting her to the doctor or dentist. Jeff will tell you that I "freaked out" searching on my hands and knees for what was (I came to later understand) a very minute tooth fragment.
Fast forward 2 1/2 years and many bumps and bruises later. Ella's tooth thankfully seemed fine...it never "died" as we had feared and I hardly noticed that little chip anymore--actually, it had become sort of humorous as an indicative summary of Ella's early toddlerhood. We were visiting my dad for his birthday back in October and Ella slipped on the hardwood floor, of course smacking her face right into it. I have developed this reflex as a mother that when I hear the kids crying a "I'm hurt" cry, my mind seems to take over my body for just a second, in which time I seem unable to move, and I automatically start envisioning the worst. Ella's mouth was bleeding, and as I've learned with all mouth wounds, they bleed a lot. Because there were many people I didn't know at the party, I tried to control my own "freaking out", especially since Ella was pretty hystarical herself.
Once everything calmed down, we determined that she had just bitten her lip and that she was fine. I chalked her hystarics up to being around people she didn't know and being very tired. That was that. Until about three weeks later when I noticed her tooth darkening...my worst tooth fears confirmed. The dentist said there wasn't much to be done unless it became absessed and that they would evaluate at her upcoming appointment, which at that time was two months away. Anyone who knows me, knows that I can FIND things to worry about when nothing is at hand, and now I had something to obsess about for two months. I read up on baby root canals and teeth abstraction. I pictured Ella's kindergarten picture: Ella with her missing front tooth.
Today was the appointment I had been anxiously waiting for. As I waited for the receptionist to call me back to talk to the dentist I again started seeing a gappy-toothed Ella. Finally, I was called in and the dentist said, "Everything looks great!" I bet the other parents could hear my sigh of relief in the waiting room. He said the tooth's root is fine and it is just bruised. I am so relieved!
I really don't know why this was so stressful. I am sure tons of kids go to school with grey or missing front teeth and it doesn't scar them for life. For whatever reason, it did make me very anxious, so now that this worry is over, I'm sure I'll find a replacement very soon.
