First Dentist Visits

Part I - Gracie's Visit

Gracie's dentist appointment, her very first because I'm freakishly nervous like that, went GREAT! Really!  The child is 5 years old now and has had teeth since she was 4.5 months old.  I remember the day her first teeth popped through very vididly.  We were packing up and heading out for our 3800 mile family roadtrip with a little chunky baby! And she picked that day to bust out her first two teeth. 

I felt she was as prepared as a kid could be for her first dental torture.  A dentist visited her preschool and they put on a little play about brushing teeth. She got to dress up like a tooth and "sugar-bugs" stuck to her.  Another day, I took her with me when I went to the orthodontist. She got to see the office and the chair and tools, and she watched me lay there and open my mouth for the dentist. 

Gracie loved her dentist visit! She was happy and laughing and loving all the attention they were paying to her. They cleaned her teeth, counted them, poked them, did xrays, and a flouride treatment. No cavities!

The entire time she was in the chair, she was staring at a movie on a tv that hung from the ceiling. All three of the kids were loving the movie on the ceiling. Libby and Charlie were cranking their necks so that they could see too.


The dentist was awesome. Very good with kids! I'll bet if he wasn't a dentist, he would be one of the Wiggles.  He must have a whole bunch of kids because he really understood how to talk to the kids and make the appointment wonderful.

The place was pretty cool! The kids loved it. Colorful paint on every wall, tv on the ceiling, toys and video games in the waiting room, children's books everywhere, and yet it wasn't over-stimulating. The kids were enchanted but not overwhelmed. Gracie got a little mermaid spinning toothbrush and each kid got a balloon. Libby was jealous that Gracie got a princess toothbrush and got to have her teeth tickled and she didn't! So, I made her an appt for tomorrow!

They loved it so much we're going back! I am beyond flabbergasted in such a good way!

Part II - Libby's Turn

Today was Libby's turn and she wanted to go and get a princess toothbrush like Gracie did. She was in a great mood, right up until she did a faceplant in the driveway and skinned up both of her knees and bumped her chin.

That was at 9am and the appointment was at 11am. Two solid hours of crying over skinned knees! I was pretty sure the dentist appointment was doomed. She snapped out of her bad mood as soon as we got there. Whew! Just in time to go to the dentist's and play in the waiting area. We had to wait a long time today, didn't get called back till 11:35. Then she remembered that she was crabby and started to cling and cry.

I only had Libby and Charlie this time because Gracie was at school.

So, she just had a quick eksam (oh great, now my letter eks won't work on my keyboard! just sound it out.) No eks-rays and no cleaning or fluoride treatment. Mainly because of her angziety (ok, who knew I used that letter so often). The dentist and I faced each other, knees together and we held Libby on our laps. Her head went in his lap and I held her hands and her body was in my lap. She cried, but he said this was the best hold for two year olds, it has the feeling of being safe and mom is holding her. True. She opened enough and he poked all of her teeth and flossed them. He said no cavities and he didn't think she needed a cleaning or fluoride at this time due to her behavior. He would rather she just have a quick and relatively easy appointment and we can do those things when she is ready. Sounded good to me.

He said her baby teeth are crowded. He sees orthodontic work in her future. She will need an ortho evaluation as soon as her permanent teeth start popping through at age 7 or 8. He said the earlier the better, before they set into the jaw bone (oh, like mine?)

She got to sit up and get a hug and she said "that was fun". She's two and already understands the fine art of sarcasm! I'm so proud!

We went back to reception and they had a Cinderella spinning toothbrush for her. She was so eksited!