The kids went to the dentist this morning (a couple months late for their 6-month cleaning, since we switched them over from the pediatric dentist in Jackson to our new family dentist here in town - hooray for no driving AND no co-pays!) and it was their best appointment yet. The other place was expensive, and we didn't like them because they didn't let the parents go back to the exam room (one giant room with 5 exam tables...) Our new dentist is awesome (and honest, unlike our last dentist here...) and his dental hygienists are so friendly and gentle. I knew James would do well, but he impressed me with being extra helpful for the hygienist (opening his mouth wide, moving his tongue out of the way, answering her questions, etc.). Having cartoons to watch (after a weekend of TV/movie restriction...), barely 6" from his face, didn't hurt the deal either.
Cora watched James' exam, cleaning, and flouride application with noticeable apprehension and she asked me to leave twice... Then when it was her turn (and she'd seen that James was allowed to pick a prize from the treasure chest), she surprised me and climbed right into the exam chair. Once there though, she got a look of horror on her face...
 |
| She is extremely attached to that little kitty cat Beanie Baby these days... It goes everywhere with her, she won't sleep without it, and after just a couple weeks it's already covered in Cora slobber from her chewing on it's face... |
After a quick tooth count and some explanation of the different tools and what they were for, she shut down. She didn't want the hygienist's hands anywhere near her mouth and she immediately blocked her with her own hands. We tried to talk her into cooperating (and bribed her with TWO prizes from the treasure chest). Even James sweetly took her hand to try and calm her down (without any prompting from me, mind you - he's just that sweet of a kid), but nothing worked. She cried and scrambled out of the chair, over James, and up into my arms. We were going to give up, but with the promise of sitting on my lap throughout the cleaning, she gave it another shot. And luckily she held herself together just fine after that, through the cleaning and flouride, and letting the dentist check her out.
The final report is that both kids have perfect teeth. No cavities, no issues. The only thing the dentist mentioned is the likelihood of James needing braces someday. We're not at all surprised by that though, since his smile leaves no room for new, bigger, adult teeth, and both his parents had to have braces/retainers when they were kids. Cora, on the other hand, should be just fine without braces - those tooth gaps are going to come in handy!!
No comments:
Post a Comment