Goodbye, Tooth Daddy.

I had read books from the library about the tooth fairy when I was little. But I knew that just like Santa Claus and the Easter bunny, the tooth fairy didn't exist. And even though I knew the tooth fairy didn't exist I thought it would be nice if I got something for losing a tooth. I mean, hey, losing a tooth isn't all fun and games. Oh no! I remember the first molar that I lost. It was hanging on by a thread for over a day. I wriggled it, pulled it, plucked it, and it wouldn't budge that last millimeter. But when it finally fell out, I was overjoyed! And by this time, the time when I started losing molars, I knew for certain that I would get a reward for all that hard work.

You see, we had the Tooth Daddy growing up. For those of you who don't understand, the Tooth Daddy was Dad. I didn't realize this for the first two teeth that I lost, but after telling Damarise that I had a hunch that Dad was the Tooth Daddy and after having her laugh at my slow realization of this fact, I knew for certain that Dad was the Tooth Daddy (and felt slightly embarrassed for having ever wondered otherwise).

When I lost my first tooth I stuck that tooth in a Ziploc bag under my pillow. In the morning I had a quarter (or maybe a dollar... I can't remember) and a note from the Tooth Daddy. The money was great, but the notes were the best! They always had a fun drawing depicting the exciting circumstances surrounding the tooth falling out. And with the drawing was always a sweet note. Sometimes encouraging the bravery displayed while suffering through the loose tooth, a reminder to take care of the pearly whites God had blessed me with, and always a reminder of how loved I was by Dad.

I have all those notes in a bucket somewhere. But I think one of my favourite notes from the Tooth Daddy was one that was made on the run. I don't remember how old I was, but we were still living in Arkansas at the time. I had lost my tooth late at night and knew that Dad was leaving early in the morning (before the sun would even be thinking about rising) to go to a Chemistry conference. At this point I knew who the Tooth Daddy was and knowing that Dad was leaving for his conference I knew there'd be no note in the morning when I woke up. But even knowing that, I still stuck my tooth under my pillow. I woke up early the next morning a little disappointed, knowing that when I reached under my pillow my tooth would still be there. I debated about not even feeling under there, but decided I may as well. Instead of pulling out the tooth like I expected, I pulled out a short note saying that the Tooth Daddy was very busy but he would never ever forget about leaving a note and money for a tooth. He told me how much he loved me and that he was sorry the note was short. I could've cared less about how short the note was. All that mattered was that he remembered, even in the busyness of him leaving for his trip. I was overjoyed!

And that is why when Dad sent a letter to all of us kids via email announcing the retirement of the Tooth Daddy on February 23rd, I may have teared up. At the top of the note was a drawing just like the ones drawn in our letters. The rest of the note told us that the Tooth Daddy was retiring due to no more teeth falling out. It was a precious, funny letter just like all the other letters from the Tooth Daddy. And it reminded me just how grateful I am for Dad. Getting a letter from Dad after losing a tooth was one of the most exciting things. It was exciting to get money, look at the fun picture, and read what Dad had to say. But looking back on it now, it showed just how much Dad cared about every little detail of our lives. And for that, I'm thankful. Getting the Tooth Daddy retirement letter this week was just a little reminder of how blessed I am to have Dad as my dad.

The Tooth Daddy era is over and I just want to thank Dad for the wonderful Tooth Daddy he made. I love you, Dad! Thanks for caring about our lives... even in the tiny things like losing a tooth. 

Wisdom Teeth Saga

It happened. I got my wisdom teeth pulled. It had to happen sometime this summer and when August 2nd dawned my wisdom teeth were gone.

I was pretty anxious about getting them pulled because I had heard all kinds of stories about the worst case scenarios. Not to mention that two days before my teeth were to be pulled I read online about how the procedure is done. Needless to say, by the time I was in the dentist's chair, I was nerve racked.

Now, unlike most people who get their wisdom teeth pulled (although recently I have heard of more people doing this) I was awake for the entire procedure. First they numbed my mouth with huge needles. The dentist who did this was amazing. He went as quick as he could and I felt as little pain as possible.

Then we waited 10 minutes for the numbing stuff to kick in. As soon as it was kicked in the dentist began to pull. He told me before he pulled them that the bottom one (I only got one of the bottom ones pulled due to another molar being gone) would have to be split in two before he could pull it out. I had gotten a tooth pulled before so I was expecting a long process of drilling, pulling, pushing, and shoving. But before I could even think about any of that the dentist was saying to the nurse, "Alright. Stitch." I could not believe that he had already pulled out the first wisdom tooth and was stitching it up. In fact I was so shocked that I sat up a little and said, "Wait. Did you just pull out that tooth?! It's already out??" He replied, "Yes. Now, lay back down and the other two will be out that quick as well."

I laid back down and sure enough each tooth took about 30 seconds to pull and then next thing I knew I was shaking his hand, saying thank you, and then waiting for five minutes to make sure my mouth wasn't bleeding too bad.

All in all, getting my wisdom teeth pulled was not a bad experience! I think the nerves before were the worst part ;). Now I am home with a swollen face. The dentist said that the wisdom teeth being pulled from the bottom jaw make the face swell. Since I only had one wisdom tooth pulled from the bottom jaw, only one half of my face is swollen. So, if you are wondering how I look, picture this: My face with chipmunk cheeks, but only on the left side :) It's like a lopsided chipmunk.

Anyways, for all of you who were praying for me as I got them pulled, thank you! The whole experience was much better than I was hoping for. And the pain isn't too bad either. As for any of you reading this who are having your wisdom teeth pulled any time soon, it's not that bad. You will swell, but that's about the worst of it :)

One Less Tooth

**warning: slightly gross pictures**

Thursday morning I went on a visit to the dentist's office. I went there with a mouthful of teeth and left with... well, still a mouthful of teeth, just minus one.

Yes, I had a tooth pulled. I've never had a tooth pulled in my life, so this was quite the experience for me. 

It all started a few weeks ago when we visited the orthodontist. When he took xrays of my mouth he noticed that I had a huge black spot on one of my molars. He said that it looked like I had a big cavity on my molar. Well, it didn't hurt me at all, but he said it would be better if the dentist pulled that molar that way my wisdom tooth could have room to grow into my mouth. 

Which brings us back to Thursday morning. Mom and I went into the dentist's office and I sat down in the chair ready to have it all over with. First came the needle. Five shots all around my molar. Let me tell you, it was numb! Then came the pulling, digging, wrenching, twisting, poking, drilling, and all that all over again. Then *snap*! Off came the top of my molar. The dentist said that he figured that would happen. He said he would have to take each root out separate and that it would be like taking out splinters. So he drilled around them to get them to loosen up and then he twisted and pulled and dug, and wiggled and finally one root came out. He did all that a second time and finally my tooth was out! Phew!

I was left with a rather big hole, and a very sore jaw. 

Oh, and a molar in thirds! :)

I'm not sure if you can see it in this picture, but the top of my molar really was all rotted out. It was really gross!

And last, but not least, the picture of my mouth. The hole doesn't look to big in this picture, but it was.