Alyssa Henicheck, 6, shows off her loose tooth. PHOTO BY Laurel Dankos ------ 5 columns color for region View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

Wiggle or yank? A toothy test

When you're 6, pulling teeth can be like, well, pulling teeth

Date published: 5/20/2008

ALYSSA HENICHECK, age 6, has had a big year.

Not only is she finishing her first year of kindergarten and adjusting to the role of big sister, she is also about to lose her third baby tooth.

I offered to help her pull it with the old trick of tying a string to a doorknob, but she turned me down. She also chose not to take a bite of the apple I tried to give her.

These were the same tricky methods of tooth extraction that adults tried to pull on me when I was young. Back then, it seemed too painful to have my tooth ripped out by a slamming door. I thought it was just a strange form of torture.

Now that I'm an adult, I regret never trying it. I realize now that I would have been so proud to show off my fresh tooth on a string. I'm sure that the pain would have subsided eventually, and I would have had a good story to tell.

Alyssa still has many baby teeth to lose. Maybe she'll be braver than I was at her age. Maybe she'll let someone extract her tooth with a piece of string tied to a door.

These days, the payoff from the tooth fairy is probably much bigger!

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Date published: 5/20/2008