Collin went to the dentist this morning. I was hoping that it would be a successful visit but I was prepared to show up and then leave within 10 minutes of when it was his turn. That was not the case this morning. Collin was a rock star!! A few days before the appointment, I read to him a customized book downloaded from the dentist's website about the visit and what would happen. The little boy in the book was named Collin and he loved to read it every night. So....when we arrived at the appointment, he was not scared and thinking that he would get shots....like he does whenever someone mentions "doctor" to him. The hygienist called us in. First, he was weighed (34.5 lbs) and then we talked about what kind of food he eats. He pointed to the pictures on the way and the fake fruits and vegetables of the food he eats. He did not recognize the sweets/candy or the soda. She talked about how gummy candy sticks to his mouth.
Next, he had to brush his teeth for her. He was too shy to do it so I squatted down to his level and said that he can brush his teeth for me. He brushed the tops, front, and sides of his teeth and then his tongue. I was proud that he did just as good as he does at home. She was really impressed and said that he did a good job.
It was time for Xrays next. Here we go....this had to have been when he was going to throw a fit or not be cooperative. He did not want to sit down in the chair at first but eventually did when she said that he would get one of the stickers sitting on the counter. Bribery works wonders with a 3 year old. He sat still in the chair and let her put the heavy lead blanket on him. He even let her put the Xray film in his mouth.....3 times! She was able to successfully take the pictures and he got to pick out a sticker.
We then went to the other room to have his teeth polished. He sat on the bench and listened to the second hygienist talk to him about polishing his teeth. She polished his finger nails first so he could see what it felt like. He then picked out the flavor of polish he wanted. He picked grape. I thought for sure he would have picked out strawberry or another flavor....grape...really? She then switched the polish head to one that looked like a zebra and polished all of his teeth. He sat in my lap so he was more comfortable. She then counted his teeth. He has 20 teeth which is how many he should have at his age. She then talked about flossing and that he needs to for his back teeth because they are very tight and close together.
We waited for the dentist to look at Collin's teeth. The dentist came and Collin picked out sunglasses to wear so the bright light would not hurt his eyes. The hygienist flashed a light on Collin's teeth and he opened up for the dentist to look inside. He even let the dentist use a pick on his front teeth...the ones that never developed enamel on the bottom half of the teeth. There were flecks coming off the teeth but the dentist said that the Xrays showed that the inside of the tooth was fine.
The outcome: The dentist said that Collin's teeth looked great. We do need to be careful of his molars because of how close together they are and to floss them often. If we don't, he will likely develop cavities back there. We also are going to use MI paste once a day at night for the front teeth. This paste has calcium in it and will help build up the enamel on the front teeth which should help reduce the chance of getting cavities there....and make the teeth stronger. It's worth a shot.
Later, when both Daddy and I picked Collin up from school, Daddy asked about the dentist visit. Collin said mater-of-factly, "Dr. James said my teeth looked good". When we brushed his teeth tonight, he said that he needed to brush them because there was food stuck to his teeth. He must have been listening to the hygienist talking about candy sticking to his teeth. He also let me floss all but two of his molars. What a shocking day today. My little guy made me so proud!!
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