Tuesday, October 7, 2008

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!

3 comments:

  1. Yeah Clara!!! Great job. You are so brave and such a great big sister. Grandpa Michael and I are so proud of you and we love you.

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  2. way to go Clara! My boys totally think their dentist is the coolest. They've been a few times and get to go again next week for their next cleaning. they are SO excited! And callie gets to go this time too to get looked at. it's so good that they have a positive experience from the start!

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  3. Way to go Clara. You are more brave at the dentist than Grandma Gina. You will have to tell me all about your visit when I come to visit this weekend. I love you!

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