Angel's Tooth

Angel had a bad fall at the pumpkin patch and damaged her front tooth on October 1st.

We had already been at the pumpkin patch for over 4 hours. I was getting tired and wanted to go home, but the kids were having so much fun and there was still more to do. I was tired with chasing and guarding 5 kids all day by myself. We walked to the playground equipment. Angel was right behind me, but then she ran off to the Hay Castle to be with big brother Christopher.

Right when I saw her run off, I felt a inner prompting inside that said, "Call her back. Call her to come to you."

I opened my mouth to call to her. Then I stopped. I thought, "I'm so tired, and I'm already taking care of Julianna. She's younger, and should take precedence. I'll have to chase her around the swings. Angel will be fine with Christopher won't she?"

Again the feeling came strongly to my mind. "CALL HER BACK NOW...Something bad or dangerous could happen! Call her to you, call her name."

I looked up at those tall hay castle walls...could Angel fall off of them and get hurt, I wondered? But by the time I was done wondering, Angel had run inside the castle and was with Christopher. I mentally shrugged my shoulders. I thought, "Angel is always so cautious...she'd never do anything unsafe. She's nearly 5, it's okay for her to be with her brother!"

I didn't feel any more warnings after that, just a strange emptiness. But I was busy chasing Julianna round the slide so I soon forgot it. Less than 3 minutes later, I could hear Angel crying in a loud torrent of sounds.

Angel came to me across the field, wailing, holding her hand over her mouth.

I felt a sinking weight of dread. Why didn't I listen to the Holy Spirit's prompting? Or even just to my Mother's intuition that I shouldn't have let my young, sweet, tender Angel run off by herself? Yikes, I had been selfish! and now Angel had to pay the price for my stubborness! All I had to do was open my mouth and call out to her! That wouldn't have taken so much extra energy or time....

As Angel came to me, I saw with a twinge of horrific guilt that she had a bloody nose. Her face was all scraped up. Her hands were scratched up bad too. Worst of all, she was holding a front tooth and wiggling it. She was crying, "My tooth hurts! My tooth hurts!" Her front tooth was very loose and wiggly. The flesh of her gums above it was purple and black. It looked very bruised and traumatized.

I was very upset over the whole situation, and had a hard time not crying and having a nervous break down right there on the spot. Was Angel going to be okay? What did it mean to her future? Did we need to spend the rest of the day at the Dentist office?

No mom wants their kids' beautiful face messed up! It took me a while to calm down. I had to remind myself that loosing baby teeth early is not fatal, just a minor inconvenience.

Much to my relief, Angel hadn't fallen off of the high hay castle walls. She had changed her mind that the castle looked too big and scary. When she saw me so far away, she was running back to be with me. In her anxiety to catch up, she tripped over a big black rubber liner, and did a face-plant, with her full body weight being caught by her front tooth.

Our fun day cut short, we spent 2 hours at an urgent dental care facility. I spent a long time frantically calling dental offices to see who could take us, as it was nearly 5 p.m. The kids were so wiped out from the long day, I had Christopher stay in the van with all of them and feed them snacks and play a movie on the mini-tv-screens.

They took an x-ray to make sure there was no fractures or worse damage. They needed to verify if her tooth was broken beneath the gums where we couldn't see. The dentist confirmed that Angel's tooth was badly traumatized. It was the nerve. He doesn't think it will fall out, but he says we have to play the waiting game to see if Angel's tooth will live or die.

He said in the next few days to 2 weeks, the tooth could turn light gray to dark gray or black. If this happens, the tooth is dead and Angel may need a root canal to keep the tooth.

Angel's tooth could heal and recover, however. In 2 weeks or so, her tooth could once again harden in place and last her a few more years. We just have to be careful to not let her USE her front teeth (haha, this is so hard) She has to chew with her back teeth.

Angel was so cute, once she recovered from the initial pain and shock, she was enjoying all the attention! Angel is my kid who LOVES the doctor and dentist and would take the smallest excuse to go. And here she got to spend 2 hours there! To her, that was a treat. She delighted the whole office with her coquettish smiles and shy waves. She talked the Dentist's ear off, too. They were impressed with how eager she was to do everything they said.

Later, Angel enjoyed telling every friend, family, and neighbor about her tooth and showing it off. It made her feel so IMPORTANT!

So later that same day, I caught her with a big hard apple. She had taken several bites without me knowing it. She comes to me later, saying "Mom, my tooth hurts again" I nearly screamed and fainted right then and there. Poor Angel was crying because of my reaction! I had to tell her she could only eat apples if they are sliced THINLY and she chews them with her BACK TEETH!!! Yikes, that was tough.

Courtney, who is 7, just lost her first front. So Angel would have a 3 year wait for a grown up tooth, not just 1 or 2 like most other kids. My kids are notorious late bloomers when it comes to teeth. I didn't loose my front teeth till 2nd grade when I was 8.)

This was a perfect opportunity for me to use my new herbal knowledge.(limited as it is!) I gave Angel a small internal dose of B,F & C formula from Dr. Christopher 2x a day. It has a variety of herbs, including Comfrey which will help support her body's ability to heal. I also have some herbal tooth powder that I will pack on the gum and tooth every night. It has a large amount of white oak which is suppose to help teeth in many different ways.

The Indians used to brush their teeth with white oak twigs!

I am suppose to treat her in this manner for at least 2 weeks, but Angel is NOT being very cooperative. I guess no kid wants bitter powder in their mouth. I am hoping that these herbal remedies will give Angel a great advantage towards keeping her tooth alive! I mixed the B,F, & C formula in Honey in the hopes she would take it better. She's doing okay with that.

Everyday that I put the tooth powder on, I noticed a huge improvement in the look and feel of her gum and teeth. After 5 days, her tooth felt totally firm in its socket!

So, silly me, I thought, "Hurray, she's healed! I don't have to wrestle her in bed every night to give her herbs. I can stop now, she's all better!" So I didn't do the full 2 week treatment, and stopped after the 5 days.

Well, I'll never know if the full 2 weeks would have made a difference.

About 2 weeks after I thought her tooth was healed, I began to notice a subtle difference in the color of her front teeth. Everyday the old hurt tooth looked a shade grayer.

At first, I thought it was my imagination. In a few days, however, my worse fears were confirmed. Angel's tooth looked black. Some days it seemed very loose. Other days, it seemed just fine.

One early morning, I awoke to hear Angle pounding on my door, "Mommy guess what! Guess what! My tooth is loose! I get to see the tooth fairy!"

I tell her she has to STOP wiggling it so she can eat apples again. She wants so much to be like Courtney and loose her teeth.

Strangely, just recently her tooth looks almost back to normal. It's whiter and less dark. I have no idea what this means. I'm going to get Angel referred to a special Pediatric Dentist so that they can keep tabs on what is going on with her teeth.

I just hope she gets to keep it instead of having a "window" in her mouth for 2 to 4 years!

I keep hoping someday I'll magically become a perfect, omniscient parent, and know when to not do stupid things. Not in this life, I guess! The most I can hope for is to live and learn....and decide that the next time I feel the Holy Spirit Whisper a message to my heart, that I'll obey RIGHT AWAY!