"Lost" Tooth

This rather nasty looking specimen is Ethan's first "lost" tooth. Though a prized possession and very exciting to him now...I don't think the time spent at the dentist was anything to brag about. About a week ago we noticed a swollen bump on his gums next to a tooth that had a lot of work done on it when he was four (hence the rather large silver filling). We doubted this tooth would hold out until the end of it's supposed life...but we hoped. After a dental consultation and a prescribed antibiotic, he was scheduled to have the tooth extracted. The day before his birthday I took him to a new dentist (long story...but I hated my current one) and they checked him out and pulled the tooth. This was torture for all of us! Ethan fears needles...and surprisingly, the numbing gel they put on your gums before the shot of Novocaine. It's not really the pain...but the anticipation that bothers him most which makes for some pretty stressful situations. He just about loses his mind and all control over his body! Once we were able to calm him down and convince him of the magic of squeezing your intertwined hands together tightly while closing your eyes...they were able to get him all numbed up and very shortly after, extract the tooth. Turns out the infection had eaten away one of his two roots. Yuck! Poor kid inherited the worst teeth and there's not much we can do about it. I just hope we get through the younger years with at least something besides black holes in his mouth.