Saturday, October 29, 2011

Trip to the dentist


Other than a quick visit before we left Eglin to get medically cleared for Turkey, my boys haven't been to the dentist before. 

But Isaac is three now. And it was time to go. There is a long waiting list for individuals who are not active duty to be seen at the dental clinic here on Base. Isaac's been on it for awhile. They called us a few times while we were in Germany. But this time they called and we were here.

So off we went.

Isaac did fantastically! I was so proud of him. He walked down the hallway holding my hand, following the tech. When she asked him to sit down in the big chair, he said that I should sit in it, but then acquiesced when I told him I was going to sit next to him.

Then she let him pick out a toothbrush. She brought out three boy-looking toothbrushes. Isaac looked at them and informed the tech that we had two of those at home. He was right. Pooh and Eeyore already occupied our cabinet. He then peered into the drawer and spotted a pink toothbrush with Dora on it. "What about that one?" he asked.

"The pink one?" the tech laughed.

Yep. Isaac wanted the pink one. So home with us it went. We also got kids' floss. Does anyone out there actually floss their three-year-old's teeth? Be honest. Am I a terrible mom for thinking this is more than I can take on?

Isaac wasn't too excited to wear the sunglasses required. But he did a great job letting the dentist count his teeth and even "tickle" them a bit with that metal hook thing we all hate. I could tell that he was rethinking this whole thing when they laid the chair back, but he refrained from panicking and willingly gave them about thirty whole seconds to look in his mouth.

As we were walking out of the dentist, Isaac turned to me and said, "You are so proud of me Mommy for doing a good job at the dentist. Give me a hug."

Sweet boy with a sweet tooth. Love him so much.

And as good as he did at the dentist, look at the trauma that going to the hair dresser caused:

2 comments:

Joy Z said...

Re: flossing
Not a bad Mom for thinking that. It is one of the things that I hate! I feel pretty good if I just brush all of their teeth everyday. Of all my kids, only one has had cavities, but she has had a lot (I think four already). And all hers were between the teeth and probably could've been prevented with flossing. The dental tech said that some people just have more cavity-causing bacteria than others. So, hers get flossed much more frequently. And for the little ones, if you just floss between their back molars and their two front teeth, you should be good. That's what I try and do with my two little ones. I think I succeed about, um, once a week. :/

Also, tip for flossing and brushing if you aren't already doing this: sit on the floor and have them lay down with their head between your legs and get at their teeth from the same angle that the dentist does. There is a reason they do it that way. Once I discovered that, it sure made things easier.

TAV said...

aww; poor isaac!