first dentist visit

Today I took the AM off to take B to his first dentist visit. I was going to take him last year for his 3rd birthday. However, I relied on another friend that took her 3 year old and she said it was a waste of the appointment. They didn't do anything and pretty much said we'll see him at 4. So, since she tried it out at 3 I thought we were safe to just wait. Well, I was wrong. A while back (several months) ago while brushing B's teeth I noticed a small spot. Eventually I mentioned it to C, but we didn't think anything. Then, I started saying...I think we need to find a dentist, I think it's a cavity. Well, as the year has progressed this small spot is now much larger. My goal was to get him in before the baby comes. Today, I met my goal.

I talked it up to him so he would know what to expect. Part of the reason I decided on the office I did was because of the decor. It is all in jungle theme--lots of zebras, tigers, lions, etc. which is right up his ally. I just wanted him to be comfortable. During dental month at his school, they had a dentist come talk to the kids about brushing and candy....so he was a little familiar with it. I told him how she was going to look for any monkeys or lions in his mouth and would need him to open really big. He looked up at me with his big bright eyes and said "i think she will find alex the lion and master tigress." my response "oh yes, i think she might." he was excited and ready to go.

we get there and he's still excited. he loved the waiting room...very kid friendly. video games that we played and jungle animals all on the walls and furniture. we went back for x-rays--didn't even think about those. he did great. he cooperated the whole time. then it was time to get in the chair. dentist offices seem to be so different than what i remember growing up. it is all an open concept. anyway, he lays in the chair and the nurse prepared him for what the dentist, or Dr. Mac (that is what she prefers to be called) is about to do. Dr. Mac looks him over and then shows me the x-ray on the "possible" cavity, which it's an "x-ray" on a computer. She said "good thing you brought him in. does he complain about this tooth?" me-"no, not really. that's why I wanted to make sure we weren't missing something." Dr. Mac "well, you see this bubble looking thing from the bottom?" me--"yes" her--"thats the nerve of that tooth" me--"i see" her--"you see this other bubble looking thing that is almost touching the nerve that is coming down from the top?" me--(thinking holy cow)"yes." her--"well thats the cavity. it is almost touching the nerve. i may not be able to save this tooth. and this could turn into a possible root canal" as christy would say..."Shut the front door!" Is she serious? a root canal on my almost 4 year old? Then, I proceeded to give myself the Mother of the Year Award. Then they say "so do you want a clear or silver crown?" me--thinking 'hold on a minute people, let me digest this' this is just not what i expected to hear at all.

in conclusion, he has to go back (duh). he will be slightly sedated since she nearly has to gut that tooth. she is going to try and save as much of it as she can and then do a filling. if it is too much to fill once she cleans it out, we have to cap it. don't worry, he will be getting a gold cap with a dollar sign on it. :) since he will be sedated, they will go ahead and do a cleaning at the same time. he cannot return to any activity for the rest of the day once it is over. the best appointment they had for us was June 2, a Tuesday at 7:30 AM. he cannot have anything to eat or drink after midnight and then cannot eat 2 hours after the procedure. so i will have one hungry little man on my hands. this is all in hopes that I have not had the baby early or if i did, chris will have to take him to the appointment.

Basically, i feel like all of this just because Daddy and Me procrastinated! Never again. I am already trying to figure out when I can get A in there too. And I've found that what a dentist does with your toddler is up to the office that you take them too. This dentist said she likes to see all of her patients around their first birthday! wow, so i really look like a loser parent taking my near 4 year old in there. Oh well.

And to top it off...they give him a goody bag while i am making all of these gold cap decisions...it has the toothbrush he brushed with while we were there, a rhino tattoo, sticker and a sugar free sucker. he's a smart kid and wants the candy. i open it up and as Dr. Mac is explaining stuff to me, she stops and looks at B. he is crunching into the sucker and chewing it up. Then she says "see this, he cannot do this. that is terrible for his teeth. it defeats the purpose of a sugar free sucker. if he ate it right, by sucking on it, it would cause the mouth to salivate which in turn helps fight cavities. plus, if he gets a filling he cannot do that." i'm thinking 'yikes!' to be honest, i've never really thought about how he eats candy or any food. but she is right. i'm glad she told me straight up, so we gotta change some ways around here. she said no sticky candy--skittles (B&A's faves), taffy ('nother fave), jolly ranchers or hard candy they can bite into...

overall, brady loved it and can't wait to go back. LOL. he loves his new toothbrush and all the special treatment he received this morning. for me, all i can say is i reached the goal of getting him to a dentist. cheers.