Rachel's "Special Tooth"

Rachel had this tooth that was in the cleft of her alveolar ridge (the clefting in the gum). It was high up in her gum, and you really couldn't see it unless you lifted her lip. We've always called it her "special tooth".

This tooth has been a constant headache for years. It's hard to brush and hard to keep clean.

When Rachel had a dental appointment in March, this tooth had developed some decay on the backside of the tooth. Since her bone grafting surgery in November, the tooth had adjusted a little bit and was more exposed.

After consulting with Rachel's plastic surgeon, he gave his okay to have the tooth filled or extracted. She was far enough post op that either was fine.

We opted for the extraction.

So this afternoon, Rachel had her special tooth pulled. While this picture is blurry, this gives you an idea of how Rachel's upper teeth looked, prior to the extraction. You can see a tooth that is a little darker on the top, growing in sideways, that is her 'special tooth'. Or shall I say "was". It's now in a little treasure box waiting to be placed under her pillow. It was a little sad watching this tooth we've referred to as her "special tooth' be pulled. It's just another step in this journey.

Our Pediatric dentist is awesome! Her prescription for pain relief...a free yogurt at Golden Spoon!!! Which is totally awesome because that's always where we stop on our way home from dental appointments. Here Rachel is holding her Rx, mouth full of gauze, and red marks on her nose from where the nitrous gas mask made indentations. Rachel did awesome with the extraction. Our dentist is the best and makes sure there's no pain and the experience is overall a pleasant one, which in Rachel's case, with as much work as she's had done on her mouth and will have in the future is a huge bonus!