I don’t like looking at wiggly teeth. It creeps me out. Always has. Always will. So imagine how excited I was to watch Ari wiggle his loose tooth back and forth during breakfast.
“Bite into your English muffin with your front teeth,” I suggested.
It didn’t work. After every bite — most of which were on the sides of his mouth — Ari wiggled his tooth, annoyed that it was still in his mouth.
After no action & a good deal of whining, I asked Marc to get the gauze since it was time to try pulling the tooth out. (Yet another thing that creeps me out.)
Marc provided Ari with an apple and told him to bite into it with his front teeth. Ari bit into the apple lightly a few times. Marc used the gauze to check the status of Ari’s loose tooth between apple bites. It didn’t seem to be getting any looser.
Marc attempted to pull out Ari’s tooth, but he was unsuccessful. Losing patience, Ari grabbed the gauze out Marc’s hands and bequeathed it to Isabelle.
Why Isabelle?
Well, Isabelle has experience pulling out teeth. Her own teeth, of course. She has been known to pull her own teeth out long before they were ready. (Like, I’m talking about seeing the root still attached.) I shudder when I think of how many moderately wiggly teeth she managed to extract from her mouth over the years.
Isabelle covered her washed hands with gauze and started to wiggle Ari’s loose tooth back and forth. She set her gaze on Ari’s mouth. Isabelle gave a gentle tug. Ari let out a small grunt. Nothing. She gave another gentle tug. He made another small grunt. Still nothing.
This went on a few more times until finally Isabelle exclaimed, “Did it!” She showed us the tiny tooth while pressing down on Ari’s gum with the gauze.
“Mazel tov,” I called out. (I even played “Siman Tov u’Mazel Tov” on my phone to celebrate.):
Marc peered under the gauze and instructed Ari how to hold it there until the bleeding stopped.
I stood back and beamed with pride at Isabelle who treated her brother in such a loving, gentle way. Then I realized we were entering a new phase in life now that Ari’s first tooth fell out. Both of those thoughts warmed my heart until I realized that our resident tooth puller might become Ari’s official tooth yanker! I cringed. Better than me having to do it, I guess!
Click here to read Isabelle’s version of the story.
Raising Literate Humans 
When you were a kid, did you wait for your baby teeth to fall out naturally or did you yank them out yourself? https://raisealithuman.wordpress.com/2022/04/11/wiggly-tooth/
Sent from my iPad Please pardon any typos.
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I ADORE this photo and the playing of the celebratory song, Stacey! My granddaughter has been losing teeth right and left. She texts me on my son’s phone to tell me he pulled another one – she will ask him to get them out :O
Your son is stronger than I am. I run the other way when I see loose teeth!
I’m with Isabelle– I was the tooth-puller in our house. STACEY: this is a picture book.
I need to talk to you – once the school year is over – about some PB ideas I have. I think it’s time for me to make another go of it.
What a great snippet from your family life. I was always afraid the kids would choke on their lose tooth and, like you, wanted it out. This brought back good memories.
Ari was worried he’d swallow his and the tooth fairy wouldn’t come! 😂
Congratulations to Ari! Losing the first tooth is SO exciting. My son lost his first tooth on a slice of pizza! Isabelle sounds like such a good sister. My daughter hated this and would let her loose tooth hang by a thread. My son would yank them out before they were ready. I was a mixture of them both – I always pulled my own teeth out when they were super wiggly.
I was totally the let-it-hang-by-a-thread kind of kid like your daughter!
Maybe dentistry is in Isabelle’s future! You wouldn’t have done well with Adi’s loose teeth. She refused to wiggle and they stayed in her mouth until they fell out all on their own. So gross. I’m with you. Totally not into the wiggle teeth! Hooray for Isabelle and congratulations to Ari!
Glad to hear it isn’t just me who isn’t a fan of wiggly teeth.
When Isabelle was in first grade, I’d sometimes go in at writing workshop time. I made the mistake of telling Isabelle and a couple of her classmates that I spend more time in upper grade classrooms than primary ones. They wanted to know why. I didn’t have a kid-friendly answer (Because who really wants to hear about your friend’s mom having more experience with upper elementary!) at the ready so I told them it was because I didn’t want to deal with an abundance of loose teeth. You know what those stinkers did at the next school assembly. They — including Isabelle — called me over to wiggle their teeth for me. It was totally gross, but absolutely funny!
Great story – one of my kids left his teeth in until Andre and I were almost desperate to pull them out. He lost several in random places – on the playground, at a sleepover – and often didn’t notice until later. Needless to say, our tooth fairy notes were often hilarious & that poor fairy didn’t get many actual teeth from him.
Oh, if you have them on a computer, then I’d LOVE to see them. (BTW: I’ve written my fair share of Tooth Fairy notes for some of my friends who have been in similar predicaments.)
What a wonderful caring sister, Ari is very lucky and she obviously enjoyed the task!
Probably a little too much. She’s ready for the next one!