(Let’s just get this out of the way. No one has guessed the name. Yet.)
Last December, Whoorlito’s top teeth had a particularly shudder-inducing run-in with the bottom shelf of a steel baker’s rack. It was directly following one of his dramatic exits, usually involving my request to do something highly undesirable (such as finish eating his lunch or cleaning up his cars…I know, I am a TYRANT…) where he flails his arms, screams and runs full speed into his bedroom. I have no idea where he inherited these kind of ardent entrances and exits. This time, however, he tripped over his feet and made direct oral contact with a massive shelf.
I knew the minute he starting crying that this wasn’t any ordinary bump and bruise situation. That assumption was quickly verified when he looked up at me with blood spewing out of his mouth all over our kitchen floor. That’s the thing about mouth injuries in toddlers. Lots of blood + Lots of screaming = Bonafide Blood Sprinkler That Shall Not Cease.
Additionally, his two front teeth were not in their normal place.
I freaked the hell out.
I tried to stop the bleeding, called the dentist and hauled ass to her office.
I had all sorts of thoughts running through my head while driving to the office. Mainly, MY CHILD WILL HAVE NO FRONT TEETH. We might as well take up residence at a trailer park while donning matching mullets!
Now, a tooth being knocked out at any age is traumatic, but the thought is a little easier to swallow when the child is let’s say 5 or 6 and is expecting their permanent teeth to arrive within a year or two. Let me remind you, my child is three years old. We would be waiting for 3-4 years for his front permanent teeth to arrive. 3-4 YEARS IS A LONG TIME TO HAVE NO FRONT TEETH, PEOPLE.
I tweeted about it and received so many super helpful emails about pediatric partials, fake teeth and generalized “Oh girl, I’ve been there” responses. (Thank you, by the way.) When we met with Wito’s dentist, she made the executive decision not to pull the teeth. She explained that, although Wito’s roots had been 100% severed, toddler gums were extremely resilient and could tighten around the tooth and keep it in place indefinitely. It would be an uphill battle for us because Wito was a thumbsucker which couldn’t possibly help with the gums firming up, though. It would be a wait and see situation.
Well, I am happy to report that those (quite loose) teeth held on for 6 months. 6 months of thumb-sucking, 6 months of apple-biting, 6 months of crazed preschooler antics.
Pearly whites intact!
Until yesterday. Yesterday, one tooth tossed up the white flag. The Dangler, as we liked to call it. A quick trip to the dentist, some high-potency topical anesthetic and The Dangler was no longer.
Au Revior, Dangler.
Wito seems to be taking it well. Actually, I am too. What’s three years, really? (Uh, A REALLY LONG TIME, that’s what. Whatevs.)
Luckily for Wito, he had a very special visitor deliver a very special dollar bill while he snoozed last night.
Wito would like you all to know that he hopes to purchase a “toy and a drink” with his “one money.”
Rest in peace, Dangler.
Meghan
June 11, 2010 at 8:34 amMy middle school bestie was Marnie (her younger brother? Anders). And Wito with the missing tooth and hipster haircut= adorable!
Ali
June 11, 2010 at 1:01 pmADORABLE! Kudos to you for staying calm while still preggo and about to pop! Never a dull moment.
and what about Marjorie???
:)
Jammer
June 11, 2010 at 1:25 pmMarley?
Meadow Soprano?
.-= Jammer´s last blog ..Help! In need of a magical body exfoliator =-.
Cee
June 11, 2010 at 1:54 pmAt least he looks darling, minus a tooth!
OK, I suspect the middle name is Olivia…for the first name, I propose Minnie, Max/Maxine, or Morag.
JillZ
June 11, 2010 at 1:56 pmI am SO SO SO glad I’m not the only parent of a 3-year-old boy that has gone through this! You have no idea how traumatized I was to see my son sedated last December to have a front tooth pulled from an accident that happened when he was 18 months old!
I do get frustrated by the questions surrounding the missing tooth every now & then, but my husband told our son to tell people he got in a fight with a bear when they ask & to tell them that the bear lost:-) It’s so adorable to hear him tell people that & to try & keep a straight face! See my gravatar for a picture of my little toothless cutie!
Leslie
June 11, 2010 at 4:05 pmIs it Maeve Olivia?
Tina
June 11, 2010 at 6:37 pmHere are my guesses:
McKinley
Marcy
Marissa
Madina
Mona
gorillabuns
June 11, 2010 at 9:48 pmi so love it when they are missing teeth. i’ll be all kind of sad when Celia actually grows on in!
Rose
June 12, 2010 at 1:01 amI worked as a preschool teacher for a couple years and my favorite kid was a spastic blonde heartbreaker. Her parents were always late picking her up. One Friday as we were getting ready after hours to walk up to the office and wait for her parents, my kid was running back and forth in one part of the room when BAM… she fell straight on to a bookshelf. I lost my shit. I could not believe how much blood came out of her mouth! :( and she was my baby, so I was destroyed. My head teacher scooped her up and ran up to the office and I locked up, shaken, and two minutes later had to explain to the dad why I was sobbing. LOL :(
she came back on Monday FINE (teeth repaired, intact, she was 2) and her mom came to see me to make sure I was ok because her husband had been worried about me all weekend. (I loved my class parents)
Kids are crazy… I love them. And Wito’s adorable teeth or no teeth!
.-= Rose´s last blog ..Summer break… =-.
Lori
June 12, 2010 at 2:07 amWito looks adorable. My son fell just right in our playroom, of all places, when he was 3 and had to have his top 4 front teeth pulled. I’m not proud to admit that I shed more tears over this incident than my son. And the guilt. Wooboy. I could feel all the mothers with toothy children giving me dirty looks behind my back for those first few weeks. Flash forward two years and I don’t even notice it. And neither does he — except when faced with corn on the cob. On a side note, the x-rays they took when they pulled his teeth revelealed that he was blessed with an extra adult front tooth, so we’re already socking away the money for the inevitable braces disaster we’re going to face one day.
emily
June 12, 2010 at 7:28 pmMila…
Robin
June 13, 2010 at 5:43 amHe still is precious.!
Be glad that his tooth is gone – it could be worse. Our little guy hit his tooth o on a table and chipped it. Now 2 years later the tooth is turning dark. Dentist doesn’t think it needs to come out at this point and so he is walking around with a chipped gray tooth. He just turned 3 about two weeks ago so it could be this way for awhile. Classy.
.-= Robin´s last blog ..Summer in my 5 year old’s eyes =-.
marcy
June 13, 2010 at 8:36 amHow about:
Memphis
Mabel
Mamie
Maxine
Myrtle
Myrtis
Sarah, Ohana Mama
June 13, 2010 at 9:34 amTooth or not he’s adorable!
Cameron, my 5 year old, would LOVE to pull out a tooth. Evidently the missing tooth look is super cool when you are heading into Kindergarten so Whito is uber cool…but of course, he”s the 1st child of Whoorl.com! :)
Hugs mama..way to handle like a champ!
.-= Sarah, Ohana Mama´s last blog ..La La Lanai =-.
chris
June 13, 2010 at 12:52 pmMackensie?