Will is finally losing teeth!

When I was 21 I went to the dentist for a cleaning and the dentist pointed to my x-rays to show an image of one of my teeth laying sideways in my gum.  He explained that I still, at 21, had a baby tooth because the permanent tooth was not going to push the baby tooth out and come out on it's own.  The result was oral surgery and braces.  He pulled the baby tooth and put braces on my teeth.  He cut the roof of my mouth open and put a bracket on the stubborn tooth laying sideways and then each month yanked the darn tooth down.  I walked around campus looking like a pre-teen with a hole in my mouth from the pulled tooth and braces.  It was pretty sweet.  Having baby teeth at 21 wasn't shocking to me because I remember a few times my mom had to haul me into the dentist to get a baby tooth pulled that just did not want to come out.  They would die and turn grey and then the dentist would pull it out and the new tooth would grow in.  Kind of gross if you ask me.  But other than that, my teeth have never been too crooked and I actually have very healthy teeth with very few cavities during my life.

Now I have kids and I've always wondered what their teeth would be like.  My kids do not get teeth quickly.  Will got his first tooth at 12 months.  My sister-in-law thought I was strange that I was still feeding baby food to Will at 12 months but honestly, no matter how small I cut his food, he would still always choke on it.  So it was baby food or chocking.  I chose the baby food.  He got tired of us feeding him so we gave him a straw and he's suck his food from his straw.  It was pretty hilarious actually.  It wasn't until 15 months that he got his second tooth.  His brothers pretty much followed suit and all got teeth pretty late.

My dental friends tell me that getting teeth late is a good thing and that I should expect the boys to be slow in losing teeth just like they were slow in getting them.  Well, at seven, Will has finally started losing teeth.  He has waited so long to lose a tooth and was so excited to go to school to show his classmates he lost a tooth but was deflated to find that everyone had already lost multiple teeth so no one was excited for him.  His classmates might not be excited for him, but we are!  When he lost his first tooth I took it and kept it in a bag and didn't throw it away for a few weeks because it was just so tiny and cute.

This week he lost his second tooth (I didn't keep this one...) and for days it was loose and bugged him when he'd eat.  I kept telling him that the more he wiggled it the sooner it would fall out and one night I told him he could ask Mike to pull it out if he wanted.  Mike wasn't home but I told Will he'd be home soon.  I left the room and came back to a smiling, proud William holding up his bloody tooth.  He said, "I got tired of not being able to eat and didn't want to wait for Dad so I pulled it out myself!"  Braver than me, that's for sure.

Showing off his dollar and the tooth fairy pillow I made the boys--they put their tooth inside the tooth pouch and wake up to find the tooth gone and money inside instead.  

Having children lose teeth are weird--it's one more step towards them growing up, which is always exciting and difficult for me.  In the meantime, Isaac looks on hopefully waiting for his turn while all his friends at school are already losing theirs.  Chances are, he will be in first or second grade before it happens for him too.

As a side note, Will mentioned this morning his disappointment in the dollar he got from the tooth fairy because all his friends tell him the tooth fairy gives them from $3 to $5.  I told Will that just like Santa has to approve the amount to spend on kids for Christmas through the parents, the tooth fairy has to approve it with us too.  We told the tooth fairy $1 was a very generous amount to give for a tiny tooth.  He seemed ok with that explanation but I'm sure wishes we weren't so stingy like all the other kids parents.  Darn parents trying to make us look bad.  Why do they think their kids need more than a $1?  Am I crazy?  In my book, that is more than enough.  Especially since my kids do not get an allowance and only get 10 cents to 25 cents for doing an extra chore around the house.  The tooth fairy seems pretty nice to me...