If I still have a memory by the time I am a grandmother, I will have quite a lot of advice to give someday. For instance: is it a big deal if a child falls, hits his face on the desk edge and ends up with a skeletal smile in which you can see his teeth roots because his gum is cut, bleeding, and pushed back?
The answer may surprise you. No, it isn't a big deal.
First, I have to admit that I didn't come by this information alone as I will now be explaining.
You see, Trevor decided to be rid of diapers today. As I have been telling him for quite some time, if he ditches the diapers, I will go to the store to buy him cows to play with. I would dangle that carrot in front of him periodically, but he didn't bite....until today. Suddenly it's all or nothing.
So, we were preparing to go get the cows.
Readying himself to go, he tripped and fell while bringing me his shoes and turned a bloody face to me. He cried, of course. I peeked in, between dabs with the washcloth.
Ewwww. The above scene greeted me. I showed Audrey. She said, "Eww. That's bad."
I called Paul who was sitting at the second tire shop for the day trying to get truck tires around to go get more hay. (Incidentally the tire shop guys were astonished that he wore the previous set out already and wondered where on earth he's been in this short amount of time. Farming, just farming, he told them.)
Paul told me to ask his mom what she'd do about the mouth mess.
I asked Paul's mom (and dad, he was there, too). Both of them said, "Eww. That's bad." Paul's mom told me to go ask Christine.
I put Trevor in the van and drove down to Blake's shop to get their opinion, all the while thinking, "This is ridiculous, getting a medical opinion at a diesel repair shop...."
Christine said, "Eww. That's bad. Hey, Blake look at Trevy's mouth."
Blake looked. "Eww. That's bad." (I am paraphrasing because what everyone said basically amounted to that very thing.) Blake didn't think there was much that could be done for it. This was my gut feeling, but at the same time I just wasn't sure enough to just let it go without seeking some sort of confirmation from someone else. Besides, I wasn't even sure which professional service to inquire with.
Christine and I collectively decided I should call the doctor and ask about it.
The doctor told me to call the dentist.
The phone answerer at the dentist told me to talk to the dental technician who wasn't available. And the two dentists (father and son) who staff the place would be out of the office till next week anyhow, but they could refer me to the substitute dentist (in a very far away from me town).
Ok. So, you have a child with an issue that you aren't sure is a problem or not and no one to ask about it.
I loaded Trevor back into the van and drove to the dentist office in a nearby town. (The town sports an office with a husband/wife team. She's the dentist, he's the eye doctor). I walked in and asked if someone would please look at this child's mouth and tell me what to do about it.
Ahhhhh. Yes! They took us right in. The dentist lady assured me that all will be well. Kids' mouths heal remarkably fast, she tells me. She thinks he'll be perfectly fine.
As an added bonus (which I didn't know going into it), this particular dentist office does free visits for children age 3 and younger!
As we were on our quest to find a dentist, Trevor was completely oblivious to any long term smile issues. He was in no pain and was no longer bleeding. He was asking me when we were EVER going to get to the store to buy his cows.
Trevy did end up with his cows. I was on the cusp of replacing some of the cloth diapers that have lasted through 2-3-4-or-5 children, so I didn't mind spending the money on "potty" prizes instead.
Trevor also tells me he has given up finger sucking. I will believe that to see it! Come to think of it, I haven't seen it all day. Maybe it was a resolve that resulted from the teeth incident. Maybe the day dawned for that, too. Either way, my little man is growing up all of a sudden!!
~Colleen
