A Rough Trip to the Dentist for Nicole

Nicole has her dad's teeth.  My ex, Nick's teeth are the kind that need a root canal and filling every two weeks.  He's always getting a drill and fill or an extraction.  He gets his teeth cleaning, and still cannot seem to keep the cavities away.  The dentist told me that it might be a weak enamel.  Whatever the case, Nicole has the same genetic problems. 

Why do I know this?  I've never had a cavity in my life.  I don't brush 3 times a day.  I don't keep that rule.  I brush once in the morning to get rid of morning breath, and once in the evening because who likes going to bed with gunk in your mouth?  I can't sleep with that nasty filmy feeling in my mouth.  My rule is that if you eat sugary or acidic foods, clean your mouth out.  If I eat sweets like a piece of cake, candy bar, or licorice (and I love licorice btw); I wash my mouth.  If I eat or drink citrus foods like grapefruit, oranges, or anything lemony and delicious; I wash my mouth.  What I mean by rinsing, I mean brush and mouth wash.  I don't floss that much.  If I have corn stuck in my teeth, I definitely floss, but other than that, I really don't follow the rules.  I've invented my own rules for keeping my teeth cavity free.  So far it has worked.

Unfortunately no matter how much my daughter brushes and flosses and mouth washes, it seems like she always gets stuck with the cavities.  This last week, I was really surprised when the dentist told me that Nicole has NO cavities.  Instead a different problem happened.  One of her baby teeth was being pushed forward by her adult molar, and an infection developed.  The dentist thought it would be a good idea to remove the baby tooth and get rid of the infection so that the adult molar could grow in healthy.  Sure we could wait it out and let the baby tooth fall out by itself, but the thought of an infection just upset me.  Maybe I am a germ-a-fob, but I want her teeth to be in the best shape possible.  I believed, though it might be painful, that in the long run, it would be better to give the new tooth some space to move forward.  I think that was the healthiest choice.

So to the dentist we went.

Nicole was a little terrified, okay a lot TERRIFIED. The dentist was very generous with gas and anesthetics.  She dozed a little, and then the dentist came in to extract the tooth.  The tooth was pulled out pretty quickly, but trying to open the infection in the gum was a little more tedious.  The dentist broke the skin in several places and the dental assistant used a sharp object (the suction) and hit a nerve.  The place had not been numb enough.  Nicole was in complete pain.  The dentist left her on gas for another 5 minutes, and then we hurried to the store to buy some Motrin.  We got bubble gum flavored, Nicole's favorite, and picked up a few soft to eat items, and then headed home.

Yeah, it's going to be a rough day.  We are giving plenty of hugs and TLC.