Early baby teeth extraction

[noodleoo]

DD1 has to have two baby teeth removed on Friday.  I guess this is not uncommon, the adult teeth are coming in at an angle so they want to remove the baby teeth to create a clear path and hope the adult teeth straighten out.  The issue is that DD1 has severe dental anxiety.  She freaks out every time we go just for routine cleanings.  The dentist picked up on this and told me on the side at the visit a few weeks ago so DD1 doesn't know it is happening.  She also suggested nitrous oxide for her which we will do.

I'm not sure when to tell DD1.  I don't want to surprise her day of, I think that will be worse.  I am thinking of telling her the night before so she has a little time to process, although hopefully she sleeps ok.

Anyone had this done for their kid?  Any advice?  2 of her friends have had it done and the moms said it wasn't a big deal, but their kids weren't afraid of the dentist.  DD1 has more anxiety in general.  

Any advice for aftercare either?  She won't be going back to school and I have mac and cheese on standby for lunch.  How long until she can eat normally?  Google is scaring me that it will be an open socket (eww) for a while...

[mrsGreeko]

My DS had two baby teeth removed when he was 7 or 8 for orthodontic reasons. He had it done at an oral surgeon with gas and novocaine. The procedure itself went fine. He has a lot of medical anxiety and is a huge needle phobe. He claims he felt the needles and was pretty upset by that. He ended up needing a couple shallow cavities filled like a month later and opted to do them without novocaine to avoid the needles…. Probably because of the teeth extraction experience.

For him it’s actually better that he not be surprised by things like this. He needs a lot of time to process and surprising him makes it so much worse because then he never knows if it’s going to be dumped on him again with no warning, which makes his anxiety so much worse every time not knowing if something is going to happen that’s unexpected. And actually yesterday we had a big medical surprise (doctor found a bee in his ear while examining him for a strep test, and extracting the bee did not go well) and that has probably undone all of the work we’ve put into making him more comfortable in medical settings. Anyway, I would not surprise her with this if I were you.

DS went to school after he got his teeth out. He was fine, didn’t really bother him pain wise or anything. He had to have the teeth pulled not long after having his tonsils and adenoids removed and right before having a couple cavities filled and a palate expander and braces brackets put on his teeth. It was a bit of a tough year medical wise for him. Anyway, the orthodontist brought up pulling 2 additional teeth last year and DS absolutely balked so we took a wait and see approach and luckily that worked out in our favor and he doesn’t need them to be pulled after all.

[picksthemusic]

DS had to have baby teeth removed and we used nitrous as well. It really helped calm him down and made the experience pretty seamless. DS has sensory issues and anxiety, so I was worried that he would be upset about it. He was for sure nervous, but he did surprisingly well.

I would tell her and explain everything that will happen like she will wear a cover over her nose that will give her the special gas that will help relax her, and that she will feel almost no pain because of the special gas. Do you know if they are doing local anesthetic? If so, let her know that the gas will help her not feel anything with that, too. Let her ask as many questions as she wants to help calm her fears.

Aftercare we did soft foods that he liked (mac and cheese and PB&Js), but that only lasted a day or two.

Good luck!

[noodleoo]

Thanks all! A friend told me to just tell her in the car on the way over and I was like that's a terrible idea! Maybe I will tell her tonight so she has more time to process it.

picksthemusic, I'm glad to hear how much the nitrous helped. She will have novocaine as well although the dentist told us not to tell her because they use a topical first so she shouldn't' feel the needle. I tend to err on the side of being honest with her so if she asks, I'll tell her. Ugh, I hate this. I wish we could wait and see, but she's 8.5 and the dentist recommended getting it done as soon as possible.

I just realized she has a haircut appointment that afternoon. Should I cancel it? Dentist is at 10 AM, haircut at 3:30 PM.

[picksthemusic]

Maybe the haircut will help her be more brave? See if the dentist okays letting her have ice cream or something as a treat after?

[Susie]

My DD has had a couple rounds of baby tooth extractions.  I think at this point she has lost 7 baby teeth, 5 of which were extractions.

She had a double extraction at 6, and a triple extraction at 7.  She just turned 8 recently.  She's been under the care of an orthodontist, conservatively watching and waiting for the right time to start active treatment.  She has an underbite, a bit of a cross bite, and is also congenitally missing her top lateral incisors, so we're preparing for a long road.  Step 1 will be a palate expander, but at most recent check that's probably not until 2025.  These extractions are buying us time.

Anyway, back to the extractions.  My DD has almost no anxiety (or modesty) about medical or dental visits, procedures, etc., so I can't help a ton with specifics on that.  My DS does have major medical anxiety though, and what seems most helpful for him is talking calmly through details of what will happen to reduce fear of unknown.  Our ped dentist also has TVs that the kids can watch during procedures which helps.

The actual procedure really was not bad.  Our dentist has really good bedside manner, she does a good job with numbing (including slow administration of the anesthetic so the needle doesn't hurt).  The extractions went reasonably smoothly and mostly painlessly each time, and she got a popsicle immediately afterward.  She had soft food for a few days, and several days (might have been up to 5?) of no sports, due to risk of it bleeding again.  That was part of why we grouped the extractions; we didn't want to have three 5-day periods in a row with no activity.  She would have gone crazy.  Last time I took her was the triple extraction and we got ice cream afterward:



fine except for a slightly droopy smile from the anesthetic--and then I dropped her off to school for the rest of the day.  She ate a lot of Mac & cheese, yogurt, ice cream, etc for a bit.

The double extraction was fine.  The triple was mostly fine too, although the 2nd of 3 teeth was really tight and took some extra effort to extract.  The roots were long!  I would share a pic of the teeth in my hand but not sure people want to see that, lol.  I had expected them to be at least a little closer to what she loses on her own.  They clearly were not coming out on their own ANY time remotely soon.

ETA:  no, I wouldn't cancel the haircut.  My DD did school and after care the day of the extractions, no problem, both times.  This is not going to be like an adult getting wisdom teeth out.

[noodleoo]

Susie, thank you, the pic is very reassuring that she will be ok afterwards (and your DD is adorable!). I’ll probably let her skip the rest of the school day unless she wants to go back. There is an ice cream place walking distance from the dentist so I think I’ll take her there after! Ice cream for lunch sounds pretty nice. 😊

[expectantsteelerfan]

My dd has anxiety and is not a fan of the dentist, and has had to have a few extractions. She did get very anxious beforehand, but the dentist knowing she was anxious, they were able to work with her and keep her calm enough for it to go fine. She knew about most of them well beforehand because she would hear about them at the appt. beforehand and when we scheduled to have it done, but I wouldn't remind her of them until the day of or the day before if it was early in the day/she had to miss school for it. I would let her bring a comfort item to hold/distract her during it, and the dentist would let me come back with her to hold her hand/hold up my phone to play videos for her to distract her even though parents aren't usually allowed back with them.

Recovery was always fine...the anticipation was always the worst part. Like Susie, I have a picture of dd happily afterwards sled-riding with a piece of gauze hanging out of her mouth. She was actually able to go back to school directly after one of them.

[waverly]

mrsGreeko,

What!? A bee in the ear. Like an actual bee? That no one knew about? What?

[mrsGreeko]

Dec 6, 2023 18:26:43 GMT -5 waverly said:

mrsGreeko,

What!? A bee in the ear. Like an actual bee? That no one knew about? What?

Yeah. So this past summer in late July/early
August he was out riding his bike and came home screaming his head off that a bug flew in his ear and his ear drum was going to explode. So I ran him over to urgent care. Got all checked in and sat down to wait and then he said he felt better and we should leave. So we left.

Yesterday he wasn’t feeling super well and my middle DD just had strep so I ran him over to the little clinic for a strep test. They swabbed for strep (negative) and then did a physical exam where the doctor noticed a bee in his ear. She showed it to me, definitely a bee. She tried to scoop it out and flush it out with warm water and he was screaming and burst all the blood vessels around his eyes and they weren’t able to get it out. So they suggested we take him to the children’s hospital ER/urgent care.

Took him over to the hospital. They checked, yep there’s a bug. Then they gave him Advil for the pain, filled his ear with oil, gave him Versed and irrigated the heck out of it again while he screamed his head off. They checked and didn’t see the bee in his ear any more. But we also didn’t see it come out, we are assuming it broke up due to being old and all the water and oil.

[waverly]

Kids, man. Wild!

[mccallister84]

We have dealt with extractions, so obviously a caveat to this, but my daughter who has extreme dental anxiety and crappy teeth has always been fine as soon as the laughing gas kicks in, you can see her visibly relax. I’m pretty sure she has no idea a shot has been involved in her fillings.

[sillygoosegirl]

Some of DD's adult teeth came in cockeyed past her baby teeth in a few places. The dentist said not to worry, they'd straighten out on their own once the baby teeth feel out naturally. He seems to have been right about it. I suppose maybe it varies depending on various factors, but maybe you could get a 2nd opinion before Friday?

[karinothing]

Both my kids have had baby teeth extracted (my kids teeth really hate to fall out). They have a regular amount of anxiety/nerves about the dentist but it was no big deal. They both had gas and then didn't care about a thing in the world. I am not sure either of them even knew a needle went in their mouth.

[redpenmama]

My son has had a host of dental issues, including a couple of extractions. I believe he was 4 and 5 when those teeth were pulled. He went into it with major dental anxiety, and it wasn't awful. The laughing gas helped. It didn't make him totally loopy (like I had hoped, ha), but it calmed him enough to do the procedure without a fight. It's very quick once the area is numbed, so if she's stressed, that may provide her some relief. Recovery was easy: soft foods and no drinking out of a straw that day, but it didn't take long for the socket to clot (same day for sure, probably just a couple of hours). We had to resort to bribery for dental procedures for quite a while (new toy if you cooperate), so you may consider that if necessary. Good luck!

[meanie]

My DD needs 4 baby teeth out. She is also a very anxious kid, we told her up front and she has had some time to process. I definitely wouldn't have this be a surprise, I think that could set off a major melt down.

[noodleoo]

Quick update: I told her last night and it went better than expected. No tears and we changed the subject pretty fast. It helps that 2 friends have already had this done. She woke up this morning and told me "tomorrow is going to be the worst day of my life". I told her to talk to her friends today (hopefully they say it wasn't a big deal!). We're stocked up on pudding and applesauce for tomorrow. Fingers crossed it goes well!

[karinothing]

Dec 7, 2023 11:10:16 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

Quick update: I told her last night and it went better than expected. No tears and we changed the subject pretty fast. It helps that 2 friends have already had this done. She woke up this morning and told me "tomorrow is going to be the worst day of my life". I told her to talk to her friends today (hopefully they say it wasn't a big deal!). We're stocked up on pudding and applesauce for tomorrow. Fingers crossed it goes well!

I will say my kid was able to eat normal food no issue right away. We basically had teeth pulled and went to a baseball game and he ate hot dogs/popcorn etc. The baby teeth come out pretty easily with minimal issue (so it should be no worse then her losing a tooth). You just have to be careful until the numbness wears off. 

[noodleoo]

UPDATE: it’s done and DD1 did great! I’m so glad we did the gas, I think it helped although she was handling it better than I expected already. They gave her a tablet to play on too which helped. I think I was more anxious than she was through the procedure, I couldn’t watch and I wished I could take a hit of the gas LOL. She looked pretty sad when we got home and said it hurt, but after 45 mins of TV, some gauze changes and ibuprofen she seems back to normal now! I’m so happy it’s over with. Thx for all the advice and hand holding!

[mcppalmbeach]

Dec 6, 2023 19:55:12 GMT -5 mrsGreeko said:

Dec 6, 2023 18:26:43 GMT -5 waverly said:

mrsGreeko,

What!? A bee in the ear. Like an actual bee? That no one knew about? What?

Yeah. So this past summer in late July/early
August he was out riding his bike and came home screaming his head off that a bug flew in his ear and his ear drum was going to explode. So I ran him over to urgent care. Got all checked in and sat down to wait and then he said he felt better and we should leave. So we left.

Yesterday he wasn’t feeling super well and my middle DD just had strep so I ran him over to the little clinic for a strep test. They swabbed for strep (negative) and then did a physical exam where the doctor noticed a bee in his ear. She showed it to me, definitely a bee. She tried to scoop it out and flush it out with warm water and he was screaming and burst all the blood vessels around his eyes and they weren’t able to get it out. So they suggested we take him to the children’s hospital ER/urgent care.

Took him over to the hospital. They checked, yep there’s a bug. Then they gave him Advil for the pain, filled his ear with oil, gave him Versed and irrigated the heck out of it again while he screamed his head off. They checked and didn’t see the bee in his ear any more. But we also didn’t see it come out, we are assuming it broke up due to being old and all the water and oil.

I feel like this got glossed over! Holy crap! That is insane! Poor kid! That definitely would give you some trauma!

[noodleoo]

Dec 10, 2023 9:17:22 GMT -5 mcppalmbeach said:

Dec 6, 2023 19:55:12 GMT -5 mrsGreeko said:

Yeah. So this past summer in late July/early
August he was out riding his bike and came home screaming his head off that a bug flew in his ear and his ear drum was going to explode. So I ran him over to urgent care. Got all checked in and sat down to wait and then he said he felt better and we should leave. So we left.

Yesterday he wasn’t feeling super well and my middle DD just had strep so I ran him over to the little clinic for a strep test. They swabbed for strep (negative) and then did a physical exam where the doctor noticed a bee in his ear. She showed it to me, definitely a bee. She tried to scoop it out and flush it out with warm water and he was screaming and burst all the blood vessels around his eyes and they weren’t able to get it out. So they suggested we take him to the children’s hospital ER/urgent care.

Took him over to the hospital. They checked, yep there’s a bug. Then they gave him Advil for the pain, filled his ear with oil, gave him Versed and irrigated the heck out of it again while he screamed his head off. They checked and didn’t see the bee in his ear any more. But we also didn’t see it come out, we are assuming it broke up due to being old and all the water and oil.

I feel like this got glossed over! Holy crap! That is insane! Poor kid! That definitely would give you some trauma!

yes I forgot to reply to this! Holy shit he had a bee in his ear for 6 months! That’s like a legitimate nightmare. Glad it didn’t cause any lasting damage, although it sounds pretty traumatic. 😵‍💫

[mrsGreeko]

Dec 10, 2023 11:39:17 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

Dec 10, 2023 9:17:22 GMT -5 mcppalmbeach said:

I feel like this got glossed over! Holy crap! That is insane! Poor kid! That definitely would give you some trauma!

yes I forgot to reply to this! Holy shit he had a bee in his ear for 6 months! That’s like a legitimate nightmare. Glad it didn’t cause any lasting damage, although it sounds pretty traumatic. 😵‍💫

So traumatic. And we now know he had covid when he wasn’t feeling well that day and alllllll the screaming passed it on to me and DH. It’s been a week.

[noodleoo]

Dec 10, 2023 12:25:08 GMT -5 mrsGreeko said:

Dec 10, 2023 11:39:17 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

yes I forgot to reply to this! Holy shit he had a bee in his ear for 6 months! That’s like a legitimate nightmare. Glad it didn’t cause any lasting damage, although it sounds pretty traumatic. 😵‍💫

So traumatic. And we now know he had covid when he wasn’t feeling well that day and alllllll the screaming passed it on to me and DH. It’s been a week.

Nooooo!!! Sorry.

DD1 tested positive yesterday which means she was probably contagious during her dental procedure too. She didn’t seem sick at all until last night. 🤦🏾‍♀️

[mrsGreeko]

Dec 10, 2023 12:44:59 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

Dec 10, 2023 12:25:08 GMT -5 mrsGreeko said:

So traumatic. And we now know he had covid when he wasn’t feeling well that day and alllllll the screaming passed it on to me and DH. It’s been a week.

Nooooo!!! Sorry.

DD1 tested positive yesterday which means she was probably contagious during her dental procedure too. She didn’t seem sick at all until last night. 🤦🏾‍♀️

Sorry. DS was only not feeling well for like 8 hours on Tuesday. We didn’t test him until yesterday because DH tested positive and we had a thing so we tested everyone else and DS showed faintly positive. It’s DH first time and he was pretty sick for 2 days and is starting to feel better today. I started feeling sick last night and tested positive this morning. If it makes you feel any better, I tested yesterday morning and afternoon and was negative both times so using that as a proxy for contagiousness, your DD may not have been contagious at the procedure.