Its Days Are Numbered

E had a regular dental checkup on Monday, during which our hygienist noticed that the gum line over one tooth was a bit bruised looking. She asked me if he had hit his mouth or poked the gum or anything at all to cause it. Not to my knowledge. We asked E all the same questions. No, he said. As the exam progressed, the dentist informed me that we should expect E to start losing his baby teeth any time now. Our hygienist, who happens to be a family friend, chided me accordingly for the rest of the visit.

Tuesday, I noticed that the gum in question looked a bit swollen.

Tuesday evening, we were at a cookout. E walked over and put his head on my shoulder, after a couple minutes of which I noticed that he was bleeding from his mouth, and that the blood was mixing with his saliva and that it was now running down my arm as well as his face.

What happened?! I exclaimed

I hit myself with the empty, plastic baby swing. He replied

Upon investigation, we found this:



Turns out that tooth that had just a little bit of something strange going on while at the dentist on Monday is now quite loose. I checked with our dentist this morning and he informed me that it is not surprising.

That tooth's days were already numbered. Said he.

What's the current going Tooth Fairy rate per tooth these days, anyway?