Noah called me on the phone a few days ago, screaming with excitement that he finally had his first loose tooth. After watching so many of his cousins and friends show up with gaps in the grins, he was chomping at the bit. Pun intended.
Of all the milestones he’s had, I think this was among the most exciting for me. After all, it’s a dad’s duty to help his kids yank their teeth out.
As I look back in my own memory, I see lots of blood, lots of tears, and lots of terror, all at the hand of my dad.
I will do it differently, I thought. There may be a little blood, but there will be no tears. No terror.
Famous last thoughts, I suppose.
Now, before I get into the tooth yanking, let me just tell you that I was hoping and praying that it would hit “yanking point” while Noah was on my watch. His stepdad and mom taught him to ride a bicycle, and while I thought it was awesome, I’ve secretly been a little bitter ever since. I mean… there are some things that are dad things, right?
The answer is, yes, Dan. You are right.
Haha.
Anyway, I was really hoping another dad moment didn’t go to the other team on this one, so when at 10:30 (long after I put Noah to bed) he hollered, “Dad, my tooth feels like it’s about to fall out!” I ran in, gave it a wiggle, and immediately demanded his presence in my “office.”
Sidenote: My office is actually my kitchen. Apartment living and all.
So, he came running out to my office. I grabbed a long piece of floss. And… the rest you just have to watch.
Let’s just say that things didn’t go as swimmingly as I had expected. I cut out about seven or eight minutes of the entire ordeal.
We got it out in the end, though.
Dad, turns out you were much better at this than I remember.
Dan Pearce, Single Dad Laughing
PS. Anybody have any good stories or memories of yanking kids’ teeth? And, anybody have any bloody, teary, traumatic memories of their own teeth getting pulled?
haha I watched the end like 3 time just to hear you yell, 'GOT IT!!" hilarious!!!
For a second there, you looked more excited about his tooth finally being out than Noah did! Lol. Valiant effort Dan, persistence is key :-). I remember when I was a kid, I would just twist and twist the loose tooth in circles on its "root" until it finally fell out... Those were the days.
I loved this!!I was a nanny to four children and I had a 6 year old boy with his second loose tooth. He was so excited! I didn't want to be the one to pull it so while his mom filmed it, his older sister Alyvia helped him. In the end we had to wait a few more days for the pesky tooth to come out. Ayden was so happy when it finally came out (: Watch the tooth video... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mUrg3TMBzI&feature=plcp
Best tooth pull ever. My husband is the only Dad my children have ever known, he met our boys when they were 3 & 4. 4 year old is now 6 and FINALLY had his first loose tooth a few weeks ago. I tried convincing him to wiggle it himself nonstop until it fell out, and told him the stories of how my grandpa used to pull my teeth (fishing line attached to tooth & door knob, door slammed, little girl terrorized). Somehow, I suppose I told the stories wrong, he decided that yanking them out was an excellent idea. Dad walks in the door, boy asks dad to door-slam his tooth out, and Dad grins. Dad went to the garage for fishing line, & called boy out to the garage. Dad tied one end of line to the tooth, the other end to boy's high powered remote control car. Dad hands controller to boy, and boy's face lights up with excitement. Dad showed boy to slam the forward control and the speed control down as far as they'd go at the same time. Boy did it. He drove his own tooth out of his own head with his own remote control car. Nothing but pure excitement and fist pumps and hoorahs, even with the little dribble of blood. This kid cannot wait for his next loose tooth. And Dad, naturally, holds a genius-super-hero-badass status around this house that may never fade.
Almost all of my teeth fell out by themselves--I even swallowed the first one. I don't have any traumatic, bloody, tooth-yanking memories...though my father always threatened to tie my loose teeth to the bumper of the car so he could drive off with it. :o)
Ok, so being a military family and my husband being the one that is at work at all tooth pulling moments...I have been nominated as the house tooth puller. :) While our daughter prefers to pull her own teeth now, I have pulled a few of them BUT have ALWAYS been asked to pulled our younger sons teeth. Ice pops are a staple in the house, kept in the freezer for all sorts of boo boos. From fat lips to pulled teeth, they soothe them all wonderfully. I've never had luck with floss but have always gotten the tooth out by putting my finger nails under the tooth and popping them right out. Our son lost his first tooth at age 4 and I was scared to pull it but since Dad was away, Mom had to step up. I've now lost count of all the teeth I've pulled from our boy 6 years later BUT I did just pull one 2 weeks ago. :)
Just remember opinions are like a**holes, everybody's got one. : p That said everyone's got their own way of doing things and I think your doing a damn fine job with Noah .
I've found using a dry paper towel or napkin to hold the tooth while pulling helps. Cute video!
Great video and a moment. I'm a dentist, single dad also. I pull teeth out all day; however, when I have to pull my son's tooth... It's so hard. Technique tip: just push the tooth down firmly and do a slow , controlled figure 8- it won't hurt them as much.. Also put some orajel around the gums for 5 minutes first.
I was definitely a "no let ME do it!" child... I remember once I was at a daisy meeting and one of my upper centrals was loose, but just a little wiggly... I was having none of that. Clean dry hands at the time, I dried my tooth off with my sleeve, and YANK! The funny part was that neither parent realized that the tooth was loose, so they freaked out when I handed them a bloody and disembodied tooth.
Aaah! I can't watch! I can't take it! xD I cheated and skipped to the end and just kinda peeked at a few still frames in between. I'm such a weakling. My mom had a thing for getting the floss and finding a way to get the loose tooth out. I think that one could just wait for it to come out on its own. It is rather bloody and traumatic. @.@ Nonetheless, Good job Dan and good job Noah! You two are adorable. :)
i have pulled many teeth, from my own children to neighbors, and grandchildren mostly used dental floss, gave the kids a buck to let me oull them, once I tried pulling our oldest daughters tooth while she was sleeping, not a good idea, she wokeup and was so mad, took forever for her to getover it.
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My elementary school principal was known for yanking out loose teeth. He always seemed to manage to do it in one good pull, and then he gave you a quarter. It was a small school, so I bet that most of the kids that went there had a tooth pulled by him. It was always more exciting that traumatic for me to lose my teeth. I finally got to be one of the 'big kids' (which is a big deal with 5 siblings!).
Yeah I suppose I don't understand either the need to yank out a tooth. My daughter just lost one and it fell out without her even noticing (we think she swallowed it). I thought it would take forever for her to lose it because she is the sensitive type and didn't want to wiggle it too much because it hurt. Granted, she didn't get to keep her tooth, but the tooth fairy understood and left her money anyway. Plus, keeping your teeth is kind of gross anyawy (I did it as a kid and they started disintegrating...bleh).
My son's bottom tooth started wiggling and he got all excited - as kids usually do :) We waited for what seemed like ever and then noticed his adult tooth was starting to come in BEHIND it. Worse still - the adult tooth was pushing forward into the baby tooth - making the baby tooth tighter. We started trying to pull it out, afraid the adult tooth would end up doing something weird and/or painful. I googled and found a couple tips (I used the teeth numbing stuff - which I'm totally blanking on the name of at the moment. As well as toilet paper to dry and grip the tooth better). No amount of pulling worked. Last straw - we went to the dentist. He said waiting was an option - as was getting it pulled. It was up to us. So I opted to have it pulled. It never occurred to me that the novocain shot would be so horrible for him, but it was. He screamed like crazy - and I have a feeling it was more traumatizing than any thing I could have ever tried to get that tooth out. After the shot, it was easy-peasy to get the tooth out, and his adult tooth easily moved into its correct home in the following days. But I have to say he's way more scared of the dentist now. Just check ups and cleanings - I have to remind him that there will be no shots. So yeah - even trying your hardest can still result in a traumatizing experience!! :)
Instead of my parents, it was my older brother who pulled several of his on teeth when he was young - by hand. He also pulled my cousin's tooth out and helped me pull out one of mine :) It was all good and
hahaha...kids are all different but similar at the same time. A lot like us parents. Good luck everyone.
Meh - can't please everyone (which I'm sure you've learned by now, lol). Off to read - I always love your posts!! :D ... And by the by - my oldest's first tooth was done with the dentist (it was coming in from behind making his baby tooth tighter, so instead of waiting - I had a dentist take it out). Thenovocain shot alone was probably more traumatizing them most "yanking" teeth horrors, lol. So does that make me a bad mom? If so - then the nay-sayers can bite me :P
My 5 year old little girl pulled out her 2 bottom teeth all by herself LOL just said here u go Dad! :) no biggie
Ha- I was watching the video and when Noah started to cry, my husband yelled from the other room "damn it, someone is awake up there". Before he went up to see which of our 3 kids were crying, I told him it was from a video I was watching. As for the tooth pulling, not a good technique. If they want them out, the best way is to wash your hands, grab a thin clean rag, bend tooth forward, twist it and then pull if it didn't come out with twist. You get one quick cry, but as soon as they see the tooth you get a bloody smile:) I wouldn't be worried about them choking on it (maybe if it was a huge molar, but those little ones are nothing compared to the goldfish crackers they swallow whole all the time), but my kids always want teeth out as soon as they are able so the tooth fairy can come. And I will admit- there have been a few times later on in the evening when I wouldn't pull their teeth. Not because I was squeemish or from lack of them asking, but because I knew neither tooth fairy had cash in their purse or wallet and a late night trip to the atm was not in the plans:)
And have a popsicle ready (cold to stop the bleeding quicker and silence any tears)
Next time try using a dry washcloth. It works wonders to grab the tooth. (red or dark colored washcloth is best because they and you wont see the blood.) Hope you read this tip for a mom of 5 kids and can use it in the future.
Yup, I was one of those pain in the ass kids that would whine and cry about a lose tooth, but never let anyone near it to get it out. I distinctly remember my dad holding me down on the floor, and used a pair of needle nosed pliers to get that last sucker out. Totally traumatic then, but in retrospect, the tooth itself probably fell out itself, just as he got the pliers onto it! its a hilarious memory.
My dad always yanked our baby teeth!, except for the two my youngest sister knocked out on the teeter totter.
My husband and I just traumatized our 7yr old last night. He had two very loose teeth and I've been on him for a couple of weeks to pull the first one and he just wouldn't do it. So last night his Dad laid down the law and said they are coming out. He numbed both teeth and used a paper towel to yank them out. The first one was easy and barely bled. The second one bled like you wouldn't believe. The funny thing is the one that bled, is the one I've been hounding him to pull out for weeks as it was the looser of the two.
I don't disagree with yanking out a kid's tooth, but I've never even heard of that. Me, my friends and all of my brothers just wiggled our teeth until the tooth eventually came out. That seems like the easiest way to go about it.
I think that was sweet. It looks like he just saw the blood and got a little scared, not that it was really that painful. Maybe after having his mouth open for a while it was a little sore, but the look on his face after it was all done was adorable.
Most of the time, I was the one who pulled (or knocked) my teeth out. ONCE my dad grabbed the plyers and laid me across his lap. I don't remember any actual pain, but I screamed and threw the biggest fit. My mom was recording it and laughing. After all that, I don't think he even got it out. I laugh at myself now, but heck! I don't want plyers in my mouth!!
That was hilarious! I remember my older sister tying a string to my loose tooth & tying the other end to a doorknob. OUCH!
pulling the tooth out with a paper towel/kleenex/washclot works the best. as you have recently experienced... dental floss is too unreliable. get a good grip and pull.. you usually only have to do it once and that is that. also i would do the orajel too. it makes it much better.
Pliers...Pliars...Plyars...? I could spellcheck but I'm feeling adventurous.
My Daddy pulled my loose teeth with plyers (sp?) and on the count of three (1..2...pull.) and I survived with little psychological damage ;) Noah will be just fine. At least he has a daddy that cares enough to document his success (failures).
Hey, playing the toothfairyz advocate is cool. :D
Ive never done it because I'm too chicken sh!t and I'm afraid of blood but I applaud your willingness to go in and get that tooth.
When my oldest daughter (now 11) was 5, she had her second loose tooth. My husband tied fishing twine around it, and the other end to a doorknob and slammed the door. The fishing twine ended up down around her tooth, between the tooth and the gums, and got stuck. Apparently it felt really gross, because she started screaming "get it off! get it off!" spinning around in circles, tangling herself up in the fishing twine. We had to hold her still, untangle her, and then pull it with a kleenex. Just a side note for Noah's next tooth pulling adventure: Dental floss is meant to slide off of teeth. ;)
First off my son is addicted to money at 6 yrs old he is a mini accountant and is already crunching numbers... so I guess I shouldn't of found it odd when my son from age 4 had asking me to punch him in the mouth so he could lose a tooth since he would watch his sister get money from the tooth fairy. (I promise I didnt punch him) recently in July he lost his first tooth and he is on the track to loosing many more... Last tooth fairy visit he took his money and bought floss so he could slam other teeth in doors yes I agree boys will be boys #singlemomlaughing
Cooper My little boy who will be 6 in Jan lost his two middle bottom teeth within a few days of each other, The first one was while we were camping and we made smores he ate his tooth!! didnt even notice tell I said something about 30 min after he was done eating, A few days later we were home and his tooth was soooo loose I asked and asked if I could just pull it he of course said no, well Cooper fell a sleep watching tv and when i woke him up sure enough that tooth was gone, we looked all over the tv room and are only thought is that he ATE THAT ONE TOO!!! wth right? seriously that kid is lucky he is cute and the tooth fairy likes him and excepts notes in place of teeth!
My son had a wiggler. It was right there but wasn't going anywhere. I flicked it. Lol.
at least he didn't circumcise him!
My mom was the tooth puller of the family. I've taken over the role with my little family. My Step Son suffers from Shark Teeth, his options are he can let us get them, and the tooth fairy will visit (we also give him an action figure or $5 to go buy one when he gets his TF money), or he can let the dentist do it and he doesn't get the tooth fairy money and he'll only get clothes for his birthday. It works like a charm every. freaking. time. Not to mention he hates the dentist, so after the first 2 were pulled there, he's more happy to let us do it.
Every parent has helped kids untangle and/or pull their loose teeth - and I imagine we've all made a crying hash of at least one tooth per child! ;p And yet, in any halfway decent parent's case (& I'd guess you are more nearly 100% decent than just 50%), those children grow up knowing we love them with our whole beings & would lay down life & limb for them in a heartbeat. ...and hell - who DOESN'T need a little therapy at some point? Lol, jk ;)
Well, as I always say-no matter what we do or say in life...there will always be someone not pleased. So be it!!
My 3rd daughters first tooth pulled by Grandma..it was hanging by a thread. http://m.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FYoi1BndvNIs&h=tAQEpSxMW&s=1
I've pulled out a few of my stepdaughter's teeth when she was younger! After I pulled the first one, she would come and ask me to pull them when she got sick of them being loose! she turned out just fine... some people just don't know how to be creative! lol!
The key is to twist and pull at the same time, like picking an apple.
It isd better to yank it than for him to choke on it.
OMG...I need to post a video for you.
I told my mom that I had a loose tooth when I was about 5. She smiled and laughed and told me all about the tooth fairy. I was incredibly excited. So a day or two went by, and after being told a thousand times not to play with it too much, she came up with a plan. She got a wash cloth, got it wet with warm water and told me bite down. Me, being 5, trusted that my mom was doing something fun and so I bit down. Then she yanked the cloth, and my tooth, right out of my mouth. I was so shocked to see my little tooth outside of my mouth. And then the blood started to run down my chin. And I started to cry. I never trusted my mom with a washcloth again!
I never yanked my kids teeth out, they fall out on their own.
With my own son, I haven't had to pull loose teeth. He always did it himself! When he left his teeth under his pillow for the Tooth Fairy, I would take the tooth, leave the money, and sprinkle "fairy dust" under and around the pillow lightly, to add to the Tooth Fairy experience. The fairy dust was a fine, clear, iridescent glitter. I have kept all of his baby teeth.