The First Dental Visit

Josh has a mouth full of teeth. He has been poppin' them out like crazy. I have been trying to figure out when I should take him to the dentist for the first time. I read everything from as early as after the first tooth appears to as late as three years. Three years seemed awfully late. Since Josh is so accomplished with his chompers, I thought I'd like to go now just to have them checked out. So here, in copious detail, is our experience today.

His appointment was at 11:50 which meant we would have to eat lunch a little earlier than usual. I pushed his nap back a bit so that when he woke up, I could just stuff him with food and hope to make it through without him getting the hungry cranks. We brushed his teeth and headed off.

The office was very nice, clean, and modern looking. I could tell almost immediately after our arrival that I needed to change Josh's diaper. I was very surprised to learn that they didn't have any accommodations for changing diapers. Their front door includes "infants" in the list of patients, so you would think they would be prepared. So I changed him in the car and returned.

Josh was in a great mood. Ice Age was on the t.v. and that tickled him. He started playing with some toys and helping another boy (about 8) play with his. This other boy was darling and kind and loved playing with Josh. When he heard me call his name, he started calling him Josh too. It was very cute. Then two other kids joined and kind of paid attention to him and one called him by name. It's a little weird to be the mom in the waiting room now. But I was so impressed with how well behaved all the kids were.

I had to wait longer than I expected, but learned that another patient was needing extra attention and they were apologizing a lot. The nurse finally took me back to the room and asked a few questions, gave me some samples and pamphlets, and let me know what to expect for his exam. Since it was still going to be a little while before the doctor was ready, we headed back to the waiting room so he could play with toys.

Then came exam time. Oh boy. I sat on the patient chair with my legs over the side. The dentist sat across from me so we were knee to knee. Then a little foam "surfboard" was laid over our knees and Josh laid back with his legs wrapped around me. Immediate crying. I held his hands while the nurse held his head still. As hard as he ended up crying, he actual didn't seem to be physically fighting all that hard. I wonder if it's because the nurse was holding his head and that suppressed any other fight.

She scraped some plaque, cleaned his teeth with the twirly thing, flossed, and applied fluoride to his teeth. It was so interesting to be able to watch this process and get a better look at Josh's upper teeth. While it's hard to hear the crying, it helps keep his mouth open. I knew he was working on his eleventh tooth (third molar), but hadn't seen any signs of the fourth molar. Well, I got to see a huge bruise where that molar will be coming in. And next to it, the eye tooth is already poking out. This poor kid - his mouth is just not giving him any relief.

Once the exam was over he sat up and clung to me pretty hard. The nurse brought him a balloon which helped bring some joy. It was then that they took the picture. Really? His face is all red, his hair is wet from tears and that's the moment you want to capture? Why not take it at the beginning? But I guess they will be mailing me the photo. But then they just showered him with gifts. He got a beach ball and got to pick a prize from a box (he seriously chose the Groucho Marx glasses himself). I was a little inundated with all the stuff I ended up having to carry: the diaper bag, a beach ball, a balloon, a bag of samples and pamphlets - and let's not forget the crying, clingy child. Thanks for all the stuff, but good grief!

But all in all I would say it was a good visit. While if it was up to me, there are things I would do differently, it really does seem like a great office. We'll see how the next one goes in six months.