The Time Jonah Cracked His Tooth

The first night the team was here. Jonah, Eden and I were walking back to the truck after supper. Flores is completely cobblestone roads. They are quaint, but uneven and difficult to navigate, especially in the dark. I was carrying Eden in her sling and holding Jonah's hand to help him not trip (or get run over). We were just a couple steps away from the vehicle when he tripped and fell. I thought I had him tight, but I guess not tight enough. Jonah usually catches himself with his forehead, but this time he caught himself with his front teeth. 

He hit so hard the first thing I did was look for teeth on the ground. There wasn't any blood, but I saw him playing with his front left tooth. I felt it in the dark and it felt rough. Great! Once we got in the truck I looked at it with the light from my phone. Sure enough, there was a crack in it... a split going up the side. I felt horrible. Why couldn't I have held on tighter to his hand?!

During the drive home Jimmy asked Jonah what happened to his tooth. He said, "Momma!" What?! I already felt guilty. Jimmy said, "Jonah, did Mommy crack your tooth?" Jonah replies, "Yea yea!" (nodding his head). Jimmy is loving the whole thing and I'm madly googling how to fix a 2 year olds cracked tooth. Jimmy kept telling Jonah, "You better behave or Mommy's going to crack your other tooth!"

We had only been to a dentist in Petén once before. It seemed clean, but I still have problems with the tooth that he "fixed" and my cleaning only included the fronts of my front teeth. My friend Sandra had just mentioned to us the other day that she new of a really good dentist we should try. 

{The first time Sandra met Eden}

I trust her judgement, because she is as picky as me. We got an appointment for 2 days later. That meant I had 24 hours to convince Jonah that getting your tooth glued back together was cool! We read Dr. Suess' The Tooth Book several times and talked about the dentist making Jonah's tooth all better. 

Sandra was so sweet and said that if I picked her up she would show me the way there and then watch Silas while I went in with Jonah. Well guess who left the team and showed up at the dentist office? Daddy! I thought it was cute. He must have been a little more concerned than he was letting on. It ended up being a good thing. The dentist wouldn't let me in with a baby and I can imagine hearing E fussing in the waiting room while I was in with Jonah. (Eden is a very calm quiet baby until her mommy leaves the room!) Poor Sandra! So Jimmy went in with Jonah. I'll admit I was a little jealous, especially since I was the one who caused it, I wanted to be the one to see him through it.

The doctor was SO nice. She let Jonah play with some of the equipment and gave him some time to get comfortable.      

{You can see the little spongy thing in his hand she let him play with.}

She explained to Jonah what she was going to do. Then Daddy asked, "Can she fix your tooth now?" Jonah thought about it and said, "Yes." He was so brave! I could hear from the waiting room. He didn't cry or squirm or nothing. He did hold Daddy's hand!

{I think this photo is so sweet!}

I am so proud of my big boy!

She said it was the best possible outcome for an injury like this. The crack didn't go all the way to the nerve. The tooth split like a piece of plywood would. There was a little piece sticking up that Jonah kept playing with, so she sanded (I don't think that's the right word) that down and then buffed it. She said that we could seal it when he turns 3 so that it doesn't continue to split. It is a little loose but should heal over time. The dentist said that Jonah was so good that it wasn't even work for her, so she didn't charge us anything. 

Overall it was a great experience. I am so thankful that this dentist is here in Petén. We are all going back for cleanings soon! Once we got home Jonah opened up The Tooth Book and pointed to the little boy in the dentist chair and said, "Me!" I called my mom to share the news and told her that given the choice between silver and gold, Jonah chose the gold one with the star in the middle for his new front tooth! 

We were all worrying about our little Jonahman and he did just fine.