Dental drama...

10 days ago, Cyan got hit in the face with her recorder while it was in her mouth. It knocked her front left tooth loose. Over the next week, she got hit repeatedly in the mouth (jump rope once, bike handle once, and once it was even the face of a stuffed dog) and it started to swell. This was last Friday. I decided that if it wasn't better by Monday she was going to go in to the dentist. Well, over the weekend it got worse. When I checked on Sunday she had a nasty abscess that was up under her lip all the way into the top of her mouth.

We got to the dentist and almost within seconds he said he couldn't handle it and sent us to a specialist. I could see on the x-ray that something was off... but not sure what and the dentist really wanted us to talk to the specialist before we knew a whole lot more. It looked like the abscess was pushing the damaged tooth out like a splinter would get pushed out by a blister. Downright odd, is what that was!

Apparently, her front tooth is dying. Most of it stems from an accident she did three years ago when her tooth was still coming in. Involving a scooter, a bunch of rocks, and then a street curb. I can't find the post, although I am sure I posted it with a link to a horridly graphic picture of my daughters mouth just after the swelling went down. It was bad... and apparently, it has left her with problems.

Half of me wants to make her wear a helmet and a mouth guard everywhere she goes. The other half knows that this clumsy phase will pass... but goodness. This is the 7th chipped tooth she has had... twice has been this very same tooth and once was this tooth just before her permanents came in. My boys have never chipped a tooth... but my daughter. Goodness! That girl could get a fat lip in a padded room standing still... and I so wish I was joking!

Sigh...

She is on her second dose of antibiotics in her lifetime and she is doing MUCH better. There really are times for Western Medicine, although I hate to admit it. They drained her abscess (which was traumatic as all heck for her and I) and I had to drain it several times since (only slightly less traumatic) but having her wake up this morning and seeing the improvement was worth every bit of discomfort yesterday. Her gums are healing, the abscess has started to get smaller and her lip and gums are much less angry looking. The best news though, is that her tooth is moving back where it belongs. And the specialist said that if that happens she has a good chance of keeping her real tooth until she is done growing. I am hoping for longer. But not holding my breath.