Why Is My Lip So Fat!!??

Some tortures are physical
And some are mental,
But the one that is both
Is dental.
~Ogden Nash

Just as any parent, I absolutely hate seeing my child in pain, emotional or physical. It tears me apart and breaks my heart. There have been many times where I wish I could just bear the pain for them so they wouldn't have to....but not this time.

Benjamin and Hunter each had to get one cavity filled at the dentist today. In my opinion, the dentist is perhaps the scariest person on earth, or at least, what the dentist does is the scariest thing I can imagine. Sticking a needle into your gums, propping your mouth open so unnaturally wide, drilling with a metal tool into what feels like a perfectly fine tooth, it's just so wrong. Yet, like eating your vegetables, it's a necessary evil.

My poor boys had to endure this anguish today, and I had to endure the agony of standing by and trying to comfort them even though I knew my words were empty. "You're doing so good" and "It's almost over" do little to calm a nervous soul, let alone soothe dried out lips and stretched out jaws.

They were each set up at the same time in two rooms right next door to each other. So I had to wander from one to the other to take turns holding their hands and giving them my (probably annoying) sympathetic mother smile.

Hunter was stoic, silent and brave. I could tell he was uncomfortable as they were working in his mouth, but he never uttered a sound. So I spent much time in Ben's room. He did okay, until he felt like he suffering an intense case of lock jaw and thought he was about to drown in his own spit. His arms and legs wriggled with unease and the kind dentist said she would let him take a break. When she took all the stuff out of his mouth and Ben felt his face for the first time, he became very fearful that he looked like this:

I could see the anxiety in his eyes and the confusion in his mind as he kept feeling for the face he once knew. I'm going to risk sounding like a bad parent here, but I had a very hard time hiding my amusement over the whole ordeal. Inwardly, I was cracking up. Having been there myself, I knew exactly what he was experiencing. To witness that first moment of, 'Wait a minute...'WHERE IS MY FACE?!!!' was priceless. Nonetheless, I pitied him and stood at his side, holding his hand and doing my best to keep him calm, reassure him that he still looked the same and it would all return to normal in a little while. I even fished a mirror out of my purse to show him, he was still my handsome boy.

When they were done, the boys received a Popsicle and a coin to place in the toy dispenser as they left the building. By the time we got to the van, my seven year old's Popsicle was dribbling down his chin and he didn't even know it. For the next hour I heard whines and cries of when will it feel normal again, and for my own merriment I got them each a cup of water to drink....with a straw. They are right, I am a mean mom.

The good thing is they don't ever want to do that again and they both brushed their teeth tonight....without me asking them to.

Wishing you all a lifetime of healthy teeth,

Gina.