Tooth Fairy already???

Okay so here is a quick update about Gabby. I guess I will start with how it happened... yesterday we were at Joann Fabrics and Kaitlyn was carrying Gabby. Gabby wanted down, so Kate put her down and told her to "go get Mommy". Gabby started running toward me, and to be honest she wasn't that far away to begin with, only a couple feet, but she tripped and fell, and of course smashed her mouth on a shopping cart that someone had left in the middle of the isle. Her teeth must have hit the bar on the bottom of the cart, because the blood was instant and copious. She bled all over the both of us, as I ran up to the front of the store to ask for a bathroom. The store manager tried to calm me telling me that mouth wounds bleed a lot and it was probably just a split lip, but I could see her top teeth were not where they used to be, and so after we took her to the bathroom and rinsed her mouth a little I could see the extent of the damage, I immediately took her to the E.R. Luckily for us she didn't need stitches, but she had moved and loosened her top teeth, and they told us to see the dentist first thing this morning. She also ended up with 2 fat lips because she busted them both up pretty bad.

So this morning I took her to the dentist here in Port Charlotte. They were very good and took her back relatively quickly. The dentist told me that the E.R. doc probably shouldn't have ever touched her teeth (he had wiggled them to see if they were in danger of falling out), but that she couldn't do anything, and that she had to refer Gabby to a pediatric dental specialist and that she really needed to be seen ASAP as in today.... so after giving me like 10 different dentists to call, we lucked out and managed to get in with the 2nd one we called... also the 2nd closest, only about an hour and a half away in Naples. She also warned me that Gabby may possibly lose her teeth still, because even if they did move them, they could still die and need to be pulled... what she didn't tell me is that was just one of the possibilities... there are several.

The dentist she saw was very nice... but what they did to her was anything but. Once they took us back, they made me hold her down on my lap while they forced her to hold the x-ray screens in her mouth... not easy or pleasant, but totally 100% necessary. Then the dentist came in and said that it didn't look like she had damaged the permanent teeth, but there was still a chance and we won't know for sure until they come in around age 5 or 6. Then she told me she would like to try and save the teeth, but that she had to reposition them or move them back to their original location. She then told me they would NOT be putting her to sleep or giving her anything other than  Novocaine because she is under 2 years old. NOT COOL. They put her in a "papoose" which is really just a nice name for a straight jacket/backboard combo used on little kids and babies.... Gabby was NOT happy... then they shot her gums up with Novocaine and pried her mouth open with some kind of guard that kept it open. They then pulled her teeth back into place by hand.... downright traumatizing... for both of us... Gabby was screaming and crying, and I was in tears... Kaitlyn was trying to look out the window while covering her ears.... traumatizing for all of us I guess.  Long story short... it didn't take that long to accomplish, but it felt like FOREVER watching her suffer.

The dentist told me a few things can happen... in a month we will know if the teeth are "firmed up" meaning they are no longer loose... but it is possible that may not happen. IF they are still loose when we go back in a month they will most likely pull them. Also, if she bangs them at all in the next month they are most likely going to fall out, since moving them back made them looser still then they were already. It is possible that they will "firm up" but the nerves may still die... then they said they will TRY to save them with 2 baby root canals... again with nothing more than Novocaine because she is under 2.... NOT COOL... it means another go round in the baby straight jacket that she absolutely hates.... if the root canals don't work, she could still have to have her teeth pulled. The last and final possibility is that the teeth will firm up and the nerves will be fine, and she will get to keep her teeth with no root canals needed... obviously this is what we are hoping and praying for, because I am emotionally worn out watching her suffer in pain through this ordeal. I am really hoping we can keep the "tooth fairy" at bay for just a few more years :) Either way, Gabby is still smiling

Thanks for praying for Gabby, we appreciate it. <3 to all - Kelly