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SeaStar
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| Posted: Dec 02 2009 at 12:11pm | IP Logged
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Ds (7) in a very long and drawn out affair lost his first tooth a couple of months ago. It was very traumatic for him. Now he has another tooth that has just been hanging on by a thread for a good two weeks. We are having a lot of tears here, he won't eat anything that isn't cut into tiny bits, he gets hysterical if I offer to pull it out... and there are how many baby teeth in his mouth?
Does it get easier for these dramatic types? Are there any strategies to help ease the anxiety? He says he doesn't care if the tooth fairy ever comes.
But I care! I am going CUCKOO. It is not easy to cut a hamburger on a bun into little tiny pieces  , plus the crying jags are wearing us all out.
When we grew up we always thought pulling teeth was the greatest, so this is hard to understand...
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Dec 02 2009 at 12:14pm | IP Logged
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Have you tried asking him about it during a calm time? Maybe he doesn't quite "get it" that he has other teeth coming in for every tooth that comes out.. that the bigger tooth is pushing the little one out of the way? It makes me think of the line in the old Yours Mine and Ours where the older boy helps the little one with toothpaste and the little boy says.. maybe if he'd beena round he wouldn't be losing his teeth.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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Paula in MN
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| Posted: Dec 02 2009 at 12:58pm | IP Logged
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Jodie has good advice. I'm also wondering if maybe you are inadvertently making a big deal out of it, which is making him anxious? My ds7 lost one of his teeth by eating an apple. None of us realized it, and he swallowed the tooth without knowing. He actually had fun "reporting" when he no longer had possession...
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 Paula
A Catholic Harvest
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SeaStar
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| Posted: Dec 02 2009 at 2:16pm | IP Logged
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Well, we have gone over and over about the new teeth pushing out the old. Ds just is (and always has been) very high maintenance; change is very hard for him. Even getting a new toothbrush and throwing away the old one is traumatic.
Keeping this in mind, I am trying hard to be kind and patient about the whole tooth thing. This afternoon I am just maxed out on piercing cries when meal times roll around. 
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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Paula in MN
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| Posted: Dec 02 2009 at 5:38pm | IP Logged
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Melinda, my ds7 also hates change, but teeth never bothered him. If I move his toys? Look out.
Sending up some hugs  and prayers for you!
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Paula
A Catholic Harvest
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jenk
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| Posted: Dec 02 2009 at 7:14pm | IP Logged
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I don't really have advice but can commiserate.
Your ds sounds a lot like mine. His second tooth was actually harder than the first and he ended up screaming/crying over it- mouth WIDE open- and my dh walked up to him, very matter of factly, touched his tooth gently with a paper towel and it fell out mid scream... we told him he'd screamed his tooth out, made a joke over it and fortunately the rest of the teeth have been MUCH easier. And he told everyone he'd screamed his tooth out
This ds usually calms down about things quicker when dh is matter of fact and doesn't play into the drama... it's very difficult for me to react so calmly. Thank goodness for dh!!
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Jen
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stefoodie
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Where is the tooth located? I tell the kids to try and munch on the other side and that seems to help them.
Does he like the dentist? If so, maybe he can get some tooth gel (sorry, I forget exactly what it is)? Our ds-7 recently had a loose tooth and I thought it might be abcessed so I took her in. It wasn't, but the dr. gave her some red tooth gel on some qtips and suggested that we massage that onto the tooth area -- actually he said he encourages kids to do it themselves and to pull out the tooth even (THAT was totally foreign to me), maybe while watching TV. I guess that makes them feel like they have a more active role in the process and thus not such an unpleasant experience? Uh... and I really don't know what the gel does. I was going to call to find out but the tooth fell out the next day. 
Prayers and hugs for your little one.
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stef
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mathmama
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Does he have any friends that he looks up to that are losing/recently lost teeth?? Everyone in our family thought that losing teeth would be really traumatic for my 5yo. When she realized she had a loose tooth she wasn't fazed and when it came out soon after she was excited. We were shocked at her response (it just didn't fit with her personality). She has 2 friends and a cousin who are all 7, she looks up to all of them and they are all losing teeth and are not upset about it. She saw it as a normal part of growing up. I thank God for those 3 kids...they made my life much much easier 
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Beth, wife to Tom and mommy to 4 beautiful girls:
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SeaStar
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| Posted: Dec 03 2009 at 3:42pm | IP Logged
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Thank you all for these good suggestions; they have given me some ideas.
I do hope this will get easier for him... maybe he will also scream this one out
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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hylabrook1
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Melinda -
I was hoping you were posting to say the tooth fell out on its own! That's bound to happen, isn't it? Will he accept the idea of swishing the area with warm salt water? That could be soothing to the area, and, who knows, the tooth might just swish out of his mouth. (I hope so).
Peace,
Nancy
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PDyer
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I have a child who can't bear the suspense of having a tooth so close to falling out. However, once she allowed me to "squeeze" one of her oh-so-loose teeth with a gauze pad (thereby removing it, as loose as it was) and found out how painless it was, she actually asks me to "get the gauze pad" now.
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Patty
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: losing teeth/losing my mind
