Elise: Newsy Bits

Dentist Visit

Recently the girls had their fall dental check-up.  Happily, Anja had no cavities and no problems (though she is very frustrated that she has not yet lost any teeth).

 

Elise has been losing baby teeth and getting in permanent teeth steadily since the summer before Kindergarten.  Lately, the baby teeth are not falling out soon enough, and she came out of her dentist appointment with the information that she needed to have two baby teeth pulled to make way for the permanent teeth that were already coming in.  Because the baby teeth were still there, all the teeth were getting mashed up, causing the permanent teeth to come in at crazy angles.  

Before having teeth pulled.

Elise was very scared to have the teeth pulled, and I was just as scared as she was.  I have an deep, irrational fear of the dentist and the thought of having teeth pulled makes me nauseous.  Every day, Elise asked me if it would hurt, and I told her "I don't know, I've never had teeth pulled.  Probably it won't be too bad, because they are baby teeth."  Was I lying?  Yes.  I have had teeth taken out, though it was my wisdom teeth and I was knocked out with sedation for the procedure.  I knew Elise's procedure would hurt, both during and after.  But I couldn't bring myself to tell her because I knew it would scare her even more, and that would NOT help the situation.  Thinking about her having teeth pulled made me sick and want to cry, but I couldn't let her see that.

 

Up to this point, for all their fillings, I've gone into the dentist exam room with the girls.  Even simple procedures like fillings make me break out in a sweat and make me feel like throwing up.  I knew I wouldn't be able to take an extraction.  Likely, I would pass out.  Or throw up.  So I asked Jason if he would go in with her, and he said he would.  The day of the procedure I told Elise I was sick, that I felt like I was going to throw up and it would be a bad idea for me to go back with her. I stayed in the waiting room, nervous as can be, while Jason went back with Elise. 

 

By all accounts, Elise was a trooper for the procedure.  She said taking the last tooth out was tough, that it hurt and she could hear it cracking (just relating this  now makes me feel like I will throw up).  I thought she might be feeling kind of miserable the following day, but she was up and at 'em, ready to bring her teeth to school to show her classmates.

 

I am happy to report that pulling those two teeth has allowed her permanent teeth to come in and straighten out.  She will still need to see an orthodontist, though.  Fingers crossed that won't involve major procedures. 

 

Report Card

Last week grades 1 and up received interim report cards (I think in high school we called these mid-term grades).  After I picked the girls up from school that day I noticed Elise was very quiet.  I looked in the back seat and saw her examining a piece of paper.  I asked what she had and she said "here" and handed me a report card.  I asked what was wrong and figured out that she was TOTALLY bummed because a bunch of her grades were "S," which Elise informed me meant "sort-of."  When I told her an S meant "Satisfactory" and was a good thing, she perked up immediately.