Little Girls and Dentists...

About a month ago, Sierra developed a bump on her top gums, above the canine tooth and under the lip. The bump looked like a kanker sore. It went away. A week later, the bump came back--bigger and this time with a little white bump on the big red bump. I told her to "floss extra. Maybe there is a piece of food stuck in your gums." She did that and rinsed with warm salt water. The bump when away. A week later, the bump came back--bigger than the second time and this time with two white puss bumps instead of one. I told her to floss and brush and rinse more! The bump went away. (are you seeing the pattern here?) Well, weekend before last, the bump came back AGAIN and this time, we called the dentist. It turns out that the tooth, which thankfully was a baby tooth, had decay above the existing filling. The infection had become so significant that it was visible from the exterior of the gumline. The dentist x-rayed the tooth, prescribed antibiotic for the infection, and last night Sierra had her tooth pulled. As you can probably see from the photo, she did not enjoy this visit to the dentist. Because of the nature of the extraction she needed novacain both in the gumline and the roof of her mouth. Have you ever had novacain in the roof of your mouth? It is painful. At 9 years old, this is only the second time Sierra has had novacain, and despite numorous warnings from the dentist and her dad, she chewed a little on that top lip. Hence the fat lip in the picture. Well, we slept together last night--me, Sierra and a bag of ice for the lip.

Before falling to sleep, in classic mom fashion, I kindly asked, "Honey, are you going to argue with me about brushing and flossing your teeth any more?" She replied, through tears, "no." "Are you going to sing happy birthday to yourself twice each time you brush to make sure you brush well enough?" She replied, pathetically, "Uh huh." I am happy to report she is feeling better today. She stayed home from school, as her mouth was quite sore this morning, and she didn't sleep well last night. And she has dined on ice cream and yogurt all day.

I will cherish this picture and share it frequently if necessary as a reminder of the importance of brushing and flossing thoroughly every day from now on. Please feel free to use it to motivate your own children if you feel necessary.