J and the Molar

I will be the first to admit, I do not have any love for dentists. Since I was little, I have had a fear of them and what they do in that chair... I have struggled not to project that fear onto my boys.

Several months ago, I finally bit the bullet and made appointments with a dentist not far from us. He specifically works with kids, so I was semi-comfortable with him. Both C & J had cleanings and x-rays and such. C only had one cavity (YAY!!), but J had 4, with several other spots to watch. I was so impressed with him - he was gentle, explaining everything to the boys, making the whole experience a learning time instead of scary.

Last week, J had his first filling for the worst of the cavities. Well, it was worse than anyone thought. After 2 shots of Novocaine and one inside the tooth (yes, INSIDE), the dentist said that he couldn't save the tooth and had to pull it. It was a baby tooth and the only worry was that it would cause bite and crowding issues. J was not very happy. Not nessecarily because of the pain, but cause he wasn't feeling much by this point, but because he was loosing the tooth. This was the molar that came out of J's mouth:

Yes. It is a large tooth. VERY LARGE. The Tooth Fairy paid one paper dollar, one dollar in quarters and one gold dollar for it - and J still kept the tooth!!!