Smile!

(BEFORE)














(After)







Notice anything different between these pics??

Our poor little Bryce needs to have his front teeth extracted. :(
He has suffered trauma to his front left tooth which also happens to be a fused tooth so it's like his front and the one next to it are one tooth as if cemented together. So, the front tooth died as a result of trauma (and to be honest with you I don't have any idea which one). This past Saturday was his 7th ER trip - 3 being for a split chin. This last time was for that reason. He was making a "pillow ladder" to the top of the coffee table and "surprise" the pillows were not a stable ladder so down he went. By the time Brady brought him, it was swollen too much to glue and too superficial to stich. No big deal, but when the Dr. looked on the inside of his mouth b/c he cut it in there too, he saw a red boil type thing above the front/dead tooth. (It turned like a brownish color about 2-3 months ago). This apparently is a sure sign of an abscess. A what?! Really, I had never heard of that before. I've had but one tiny cavity and always have had healthy teeth, and so have my kids so I did a little research. Did not like the results of the search. Basically, it's an infection in the tooth and the sore is b/c of drainage. To remedy the situation, the person needs to be started on an antibiotic to control the infection from spreading the other parts of the body and affecting the permanent tooth above the baby tooth. So, he was started on an antibiotic with the directions to see his dentist as soon as possible which we did today. She is not able to do a root canal b/c the tooth is fused the the one next to it AND the infection could return and we wouldn't know. Especially b/c it's a dead tooth, he wouldn't have the severe pain usually associated with an abscess. SO.... they need to be extracted. This is not recommended in her office b/c it is a complicated situation having it be fused. So, I called the oral surgeon who said they don't usually do anything on children under 8, but have sedation options so we're going that route.
(2 weeks later)
So, Bryce was very brave. He did very well through the procedure. They gave him an oral sedative he drank which was supposed to make him sleep in about 20 min. Bryce kept saying, "I'm still awake!" as if he had beat the system somehow the little stinker. After about 20 min though he did start to get calm anyways and just kind of stopped moving so much and sat there. The Dr came in and gave him another dose which in hind sight probably was not the best idea since he had already given him a good amount b/c "he is a big kid." But, he was calm and blinking heavy when the Dr and nurses came in. One by his waist and feet in case he moved, one by his head and then the dentist. He just kept looking around at all the people, then at me by his feet. He did this again and again throughout as if he was seeing them for the first time. They had the IV sedation available should he freak out and need it. But he didn't. He did so great and the Dr was so great! He held still while they numbed his lip, cheek and gums which allowed the Dr to do a series of shots (about 10) in his mouth (gums) before he pulled them out. His teeth started to separate as they came out, but I guess there is only 1 root for the 2 teeth. Interesting.
Anyways, that was the easy part. He bit on gauze for a bit and his lip and cheek were all big and swollen. I had to carry him b/c he was so floppy. But he was so out of it and did not like it. He wanted to walk but couldn't, he was concerned that he dropped his teeth but I had them, he wanted to carry them but couldn't get a grip on the bag... so he cried the whole way home. He did not like how it made him feel. I imagine it was like feeling awake, but not quite awake and I'm sure the numbing medicine was wearing off so he was sore on top of it in addition to being hungry since he couldn't eat or drink and it was already noon. He cried at home too- even when we tried to get him to watch a movie. He tried to stand up an hr or so later and fell... it was really sad. He had about 4 fudge-cicles and a couple Popsicles that day and eggs. We kept him on Motrin and Tylenol for the pain. I took him on a walk in the stroller later that afternoon to get some fresh air and he seemed to be doing a little better by dinner time but still cranky and out of sorts. We were supposed to leave for the lake for the 4th of July that day, but held off until the next day. The next morning he was fine. No Tylenol or anything that day. Only thing is is he wasn't allowed to swim for a few days so at the lake he was sad for the day or two but then got to swim after and had a great time. This boy has been through SO much with doctors! He did so awesome though. I have always loved his little smile with those fused teeth and crinkled nose and was mourning the loss of it before hand. But I do have to say, his missing teeth are cute too and he still has got that crinkled nose when something is really funny or he's smiling real big.

(Sheepie there the whole time and after of course...)







(on the boat a few days after)