Dental Woes

We brought Ate to a pediatric dentist today. Last night, her nanny showed us this huge, pink, moveable mass on the gum near her upper front tooth. I was alarmed because it looked like there’s a collection of pus underneath but I was puzzled because ate says there was no pain when I tried to touch it. She had no fever and ate a lot, too.

I was even more alarmed when the nanny, who just came back from a week-long vacation, told me she had noticed that before she left, only now it has grown bigger. I couldn’t bring myself to reprimand her for not telling us sooner. In my mind I tried to recall how many times I have brushed her teeth in the nanny’s absence and I knew the answer: zero. The other nannies did it. Sure, I cleaned her ears 3 to 4 times a week, and I prided myself in having bathed her about 3x while her nanny was away. But I never looked in her mouth. And she never complained. Sigh.

Turns out it was an abscess, indeed. And the front tooth below it was also moveable, thus the need for an extraction. My first thought was… oh no, Ate is so conscious about her appearance, I don’t want this to ruin her self-confidence. Dentist says it may take 3 to 4 more years before the permanent tooth comes out to take its place. Then, the dentist, probably seeing this look of concern on my face, started talking about the danger of spread of infection – meningitis, rheumatic heart disease – and inside, I slapped myself on the forehead and shouted, “Of course!”

Then the dentist started talking about this thing called “baby dentures” and she showed me pictures of her work. I must say I was impressed. She also said that it would cost about 6 thou (for the one, single tooth). My, my… hubby can take care of this. Silently, I thanked God for hubby’s job that allows us to make quick decisions about things like these that must be attended to ASAP.

All these happened after hubby had sat in the dental chair for his root canal. He needs to have it done on three nerves at 3,500 a pop. Whoa. Big bucks. Tonight, before I came upstairs to study I made sure I brushed and flossed my teeth well.

Ate was very brave about the whole thing. After a few seconds of hesitation, she eagerly sat on the dental chair and showed off her “circle” (that’s what she calls the round thing hanging out from her gum). Later on, I asked the dentist whether she thinks we needed to prepare Ate for the upcoming extraction. She said there was nothing to worry about as she was going to be sedated and was sure to remember nothing after the procedure. What I meant was whether she needed to know that the tooth is to come out, lest she throws a big tantrum once she discovers her missing tooth. That’s when the dentist told Ate about this need to remove the tooth and the worm on her tooth so that there won’t be anymore worms. And she bit it. That simple.

Tonight, when hubby came home from work, he said the dentist scheduled the extraction a week from now. And I thought they said it was urgent. I am a bit worried but I’m trusting they know they know what’s best.

This afternoon, the kids’ noise, demands, questions, and endless jumping on the bed wore me out. I decided to take a nap as they ate their early dinner ‘cause I wanted to eat with hubby and take some time to rest my eyes and my head.
As I lay down in bed, I kept tossing and turning because of Ate’s tooth. Worrying about it wore me out even more (naturally!). I know it’s time to tell Jesus to take over and take care of all my worries and concerns.