Little kindergartener walks into my clinic today cradling a treasure in her hands. The secretary asks her, "Oh, did you lose a tooth?!?!" She nods yes. So I, all excited for her, grab a sticker (which I always have done last) and put it on her shirt for her. Get a tooth container & tell her to drop her treasure inside. I notice how nice & white her tooth was. Just as I was about to compliment her on how nicely she cares for her teeth, it hit me. I dumped her treasure into the palm of my hand. A small, quartz-like stone! My initial thought was to take that sticker back, tell her she's nuts & send her back to class. But I didn't want the little cherub to cry. I said, "This isn't a tooth." She nodded her head yes. I said, "Where did this come from?" "Back here (pointing to her rear molar)." For a second I was concerned that maybe a tooth broke or a filling came out...but no. I said, "This was in your mouth?" "Yes." At this point, I'm in such shock that this little angel lied to me that I just put her stone in the tooth container & sent her back to class. Later I asked her teacher if she was sneaky like that & she said not really. I guess there's a first time for everything. I told her I don't want her to have to give up the sticker or get in trouble or anything like that, let's just use this as a lesson in telling the truth. I got played by a kindergartner. We all had a good laugh at that one as I wondered if I really had to document that visit. Rookie mistake.
Okay, not about the tooth fairy, but the rock. Sometimes a rock in the mouth from a kindergartner is, well, a rock in the mouth. When I worked elementary for a brief stint, I had a 6th grader present with tooth pain. I took a look in and found a small rock wedged in a molar. I was able to get it out with some dental floss.
Turns out kid was challenged to eat gravel on the playground. And did it. Oddly, no stomach upset, just rock in the mouth.
If the tooth keeps getting lost under the pillow, here's an alternate idea.
Put the tooth in a glass, then put in the center of the kitchen table. Put a trail of soft breadcrumbs leading up to the glass on both sides. The tooth fairy (elf?) will eat the crumbs and have a sip of water and find the tooth. She can leave the money in the drained dry glass.
Our neighbor across the street, who was a practicing dentist until he was ninety, devised the idea when his own kids were that age.
I have a similar system! I told my son I heard rumors that the toothfairy was so sick and tired of getting her wings smashed under kids pillows, and that she really preferred you leave the tooth in some conspicuous place - like in a bowl on the kitchen counter - and she will leave money in said conspicuous place. This system also helps with toothfairy tardiness.
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These days we would call 911. 
DEgalRN
454 Posts
But... why...?