No Cavities!!!!!!

Clara went to the dentist for the first time ever today!!!! She did great. She sat still, followed direction, and was VERY brave. The dentist said, "no cavities, perfect dentition, perfect alignment...can't make any money here." How great is that?!

Here she is at the start of the appointment. She even sat still for x-rays, and they didn't just take the typical bitewings. They took a complete series to be thorough, which is closer to 8 different x-rays. (When I worked, I was lucky if I could get most kids her age to sit still for just the 2 bitewings -- and I was better than most with kids). I'm so proud of her. She said the prophy angle (polisher) was a little scary to her at first, but I didn't know it until she told me after the appointment. She was fantastic! I'm so glad her first visit to the dentist was a good one.

Here she is with her loot: an over-sized toothbrush, a bracelet, and a sticker...not to mention a beautiful shiny smile!

Jonathan came along to watch, as an introduction. The dentist, assistant, and I all briefly tried to get Jonathan to just sit in the chair (in the upright position) today. He said, "NO!" when asked if he wanted to, and not wanting to taint his view of the dentist so early, we all just left it at that. Then the dentist suggested that I sit down in the chair with him in my lap...and "everyone in the chair would get a special prize". Jonathan was OK with that plan. It was only after receiving his prize that he finally decided it was OK to give the dentist a high five. The dentist said 2.5 years old is the typically the earliest the kids will go in the chair. I expect it to be longer in Jonathan's case, and as long as I don't see any cavities in his mouth, I won't push it. It's much more important to me that he has no apprehension about going to the dentist.

Clara walked around all day telling EVERYONE that she went to the dentist this morning. She was so proud of herself, particularly of her bravery (she takes being brave for Jonathan's sake pretty seriously). Tonight, during our bedtime talk about the day, I asked her what was her favorite part about going to the dentist. To which she replied, "All of it." She is definitely my kid!