Energies and Affections

Here in this first picture you will see Luke and a proud picture of his name he wrote by himself (with a race track around the edge- the red line). You may also notice that Luke doesn't have much of a front left tooth. Herein, lies our story.

Luke chipped this tooth about 2 years ago in the manner of leaning against a ball bat. A ball, thrown to his sister, bounced on the ground and then hit the bat. The reverberation of the bat did it. It was a sad day for me because he had such nice front teeth and now he had a tiny chip. (Also, that day, Luke fell off the merry-go-round and got dragged through the mud a few feet while still hanging on. We needed a nap after that trip to the park.)His tooth never absessed, which is a good thing, but it did turn darker and Christmas pictures from there on were touched up.
This past Christmas after some rough play, I noticed it was chipped a bit more. I'm not sure if being dragged down a set of stairs riding a quilt or being pelted in a marshmallow fight, both instigated and carried out by Uncle Philip, did it. After that, it just kept chipping away. When I went in to have a regular dental check up, I showed the dentist Luke's tooth. He said he could take it out or we could try to wiggle it out ourselves. We opted for the latter, but there just wasn't much of a tooth to hold on to and wiggle. So when I came in to have some dental work done this past week, I brought Luke with me and showed the dentist his tooth again. Dr. Overman had time and we decided to go ahead and have him take out the tooth. It would allow the permanent tooth to work it's way down a bit faster and to also reduce the risk for infection.

So, Luke climbs in the chair and I snap this picture of him and Dr. Overman before the procedure begins. I come over to be by Luke's side. After the initial numbing of the gums for the local anesthetic to be put in, it went down hill pretty fast. The little bit of a pinch that Luke felt was too much for him. Mostly, I believe because it was a new feeling, not because it hurt. The dentist made several attempts to get enough anesthetic in, but Luke was not in for it. So, the dentist tried to start on the tooth and at least get it a bit looser, but the tooth broke off!! There wasn't much to start with and now even less. We had to stop several times and Luke just crawled up into my arms and did not want to let go. By that time, though, we were too far into it. The dentist had to finish. We tried a mask with the funny gas, but the valve in the front kept sucking shut every once in a while. Then, once a bit of tingly sensation started, Luke did not like it, either. Oh, it was sad. Long story coming to a close... the tooth finally came out. Tears, blood, relief and then stickers. Luke was not letting go of me, but he perked right up when they brought out the Thomas the Tank Engine stickers.
Later, Luke said, "I'm so glad Dr. Overman pulled my toof out." I think, however, he could have said that because we were going to by him a new toy. I kept talking to him about the experience all through the day helping to reassure him that Dr. Overman was not bad, just his tooth. Dr. Overman called twice that night just to see how Luke was doing!
We have been back to see Dr. Overman at the office. Since Bill had a cleaning, I wanted to get Luke back in there in a neutral situation while I could monitor it. No problems! Luke was looking forward to seeing Dr. Overman and showing him his new toys. He didn't even flinch when the doctor looked at his mouth. I think it was also good for the staff to see Luke again. Every one was pretty shaken up after it all so they really needed to see his perky smile again.
Luke will now freely show you his missing tooth, and tell you who took it out and that he's going to get a new tooth like his brother and sister. He also likes poking his his tongue in the hole and pretending it's a tooth.