Blog a la Cart

If you heard great shrieking and squealing late Sunday evening, that was just the Cart household responding to Sunny’s new mug.

Right before the December break, Sunny’s bottom two front teeth developed an extreme case of the wiggles.

Unsure how quickly the wiggles would then turn to gummy smiles, the Cart Tooth Fairy stocked up on One Dollar Coins. I received silver dollars from the Tooth Fairy in my youth, but apparently those are difficult and expensive items to get your hands on these days. I figured that a collection of the U.S. Dollar Coins, beginning with Sacagawea and continuing through the presidents would be a nice exchange for a mouthful of teeth.

While the teeth grew more and more wiggly, no vacancies appeared in Sunny’s smile in 2014. Santa gifted her a glow-in-the-dark tooth holder for when the time presented itself, and she practiced sleeping with it under her pillow, eagerly anticipating the day. In addition, if you’re missing 1-2 teeth, the flipper (or nesbit) is your best option to replace them. You may also want to visit a site like https://dentkits.com/product/acrylic-flipper/ for more info!

Sunday night, after brushing her teeth, Sunny spit into the sink and was distressed by the pink hue of her spittle. I asked her to smile, and one of the teeth was hanging on by a thread, a pool of blood around it. I couldn’t contain my excitement and exclaimed, SUNNY! It’s time for that tooth to come out! Just yank it! Or Daddy or I can do it! JAMES! JAMES! COME HERE! 

Sunny shook her head and started curling up with panic. No, Mommy. I don’t want to pull it. I’m scared!

As I dialed back my enthusiasm and aggressive approach, I reassured her that it was barely hanging on and a little tug would do the trick. She wouldn’t even feel it.

Mid-sentence, she reached in and yanked, and the resulting shrieks and screams, namely from myself and James, celebrated that itty bitty piece of bone now lying in her palm.

After Sunny’s successful tooth extraction, it’s important to note the importance of regular dental check-ups and cleanings. Finding a reliable and convenient dentist can make all the difference in maintaining good dental health. For those who may have a busy schedule during the weekdays, it’s important to look for dental services that offer flexible hours, like a Queens dentist open on Sundays.

Regular check-ups can prevent dental issues from becoming more serious and can ensure that any problems are caught and treated early on. So, while a loose tooth may be a cause for excitement and celebration, it’s important to remember the importance of maintaining good dental health. At Sloan Creek Dental, your dental care is important and each treatment plan is designed to fit each individual’s needs.

Like all childhood/parenting milestones, this one felt exciting and nostalgic and happy. We texted photos out to adoring grandparents and aunties, and giggled with glee as Sunny learned about salt rinses and we washed the tooth in some Hydrogen Peroxide. Courtland helped Sunny put the tooth in her Twinkle Toof, and they appeared triumphant in our bedroom Monday morning to showcase the exchange of goods.

James and I spent our Sunday evening wistfully looking at photos like this and this and this and wondering where the hell the time had gone. But mostly, we reveled in the vicarious joy of this milestone.

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And let’s not pretend like I didn’t ship that tooth off to a jewelry designer to have made into a pendant. Yes, I will be wearing a piece of my child’s bones around my neck. Yes, I am comfortable with the creep factor of that statement. My friend Maja wears her first tooth as a customized Jewelry pendant and I’ve always thought that that was so neat, and have looked forward to creating similar pendants for my girls. Maja says she gets people on either end of the spectrum in terms of reaction, and I am definitely of the awesome camp. When Sunny loses that other bottom tooth (likely in the coming weeks), we’ll slip both another dollar coin and the tooth pendant under her pillow with a note from the Tooth Fairy explaining that Sunny gets to keep her first tooth as a pendant. The Tooth Fairy will gently suggest that perhaps her mom should hold on to it for safe keeping until she is a little older. But ultimately, it’s hers to keep and wear if she so desires (though I recognize that she may be in the creep camp of this debate).

I’ve done some research for this project, and the price and use of the original tooth from Tiny Tooth Pendants appealed most. (For those of you intrigued with this idea, a gold mold from Le Knockout (but hot dang, the price!) or a silver mold from Rock My World are other options).

What camp do you fall in? Creepy or cool?