Just Another Ordinary Day: Abby's First Dentist Visit

I've been putting this off for sooooo long, but decided it was definitely time for Abby's first visit to the dentist. Our pediatrician had given us a list at her 2-year check-up for local pediatric dentists. Last Tuesday, I picked a name off the list and gave them a call. Figuring that it would probably take at least a month to get in as a new patient, I was shocked when the receptionist said they had an opening on Monday at 10:20am. I eagerly took it and started downloading the new patient forms from their website. Don't you just love the internet? I always hate filling out new patient forms when I go somewhere. This was SO convenient to be able to do them at home! Anyway, Monday morning arrived and we started getting ready. I did not tell Abby where we were going until we were ready to leave. Then, I simply told her that we were going somewhere to let someone see her pretty teeth.

When we got there, the waiting room was empty so Abby had a blast for the entire 3 minutes we had to wait. She was not at all ready to go back when they called her name! With some coaxing, we went back and they had me sit with my legs out to the side of the chair. Abby straddled by lap and laid back on my legs with her head in the dental tech's lap. She quickly brushed her teeth with a regular toothbrush and YUCKY toothpaste. Abby made lots of faces while she brushed, but didn't clamp her mouth shut as she does with me. After she finished brushing, she wiped off the excess and asked Abby if she wanted some water...which she did. She then scraped her teeth a little with that pointy thing they use. Again, Abby obviously wasn't thrilled, but hung in there until she finished. Next was flossing. I couldn't believe how well Abby did while she flossed her teeth! We bought some of those flossers and will begin doing it at home too. I just hope she will cooperate with me as well as she did the dental tech. After that, she got to sit up and we made the mistake of telling her we were all done. Well, that wasn't exactly the truth. The dentist hadn't checked her out so she had to lay down again. She was not happy about it either. After we bribed her with a balloon and a sticker, she finally laid down. Opening her mouth again was another story! She had it clamped shut with her hand over it for extra protection. The dentist, dental tech, and I were all talking to her at the same time when I noticed that she seemed to be getting upset. I quickly told the dental tech to get her a dental mirror to hold so she could watch what the dentist was doing. Thankfully that did the trick. I just love it when those good mommy skills kick in and avoid an oncoming meltdown! She VERY relunctantly opened her mouth a TINY little bit, but with continued talking, me pulling down her chin a little, the dentist prying her mouth open with his fingers, and the aid of that little dental mirror for her to monitor what he was doing, he managed to check her teeth. Whew! I think I was as ready as she was to be over with it too! We go back in May for another cleaning and x-rays. Yeah...I'm NOT looking forward to that one either. Especially since Abby will now quickly tell anyone that asks "I not wike the dentist!"

showing off her shiny teeth in the dental chair

(that white thing over her face is the string to her balloon)