First Dental Visit

Hubby and I knew Son1's first trip to the dentist would require one parent's full attention. The discussion became which parent was going to subject themselves, um, I mean, be so honored, to accompany our precious first born to the dentist. After a lot of persuasion up until the hour before the appointment, Hubby convinced me that I was the better choice. After all, he had gone to the last pediatrician visit. Right. And the child was an absolute angel for the doctor. But teeth are a whole different story. As passionate as I am about dental hygiene, you think I would have been jumping at the chance. But let's just say until that point Son1 didn't share my enthusiasm for clean teeth at bedtime. I thought about buying him some books about going to the dentist before his appointment to prevent any potential meltdowns at the dentist. We found one, but we had to eliminate others that started with the child not wanting to go to the dentist. Why put any ideas in his head?

My neighbor is part of an elite skin diving club in Hawaii. Another diver in the club is a well known pediatric dentist. He doesn't participate with my insurance, so only part of the visit was covered. He was worth every out-of-pocket penny we paid. I wish I would have taken more pictures of his office, but I was too nervous for the exam and teeth cleaning to slide the camera from my purse. We were first met with an entire floor to ceiling mural of an underwater ocean scene. It wasn't cartoon-ey like Nemo, or the kind you roll on the wall with adhesive. It was a painted underwater scene with giant honus (Hawaiian word for turtles) and life sized fish. Along the top of the ceiling around the entire waiting room he had art sculptures of life sized fish, two to three feet long. Then, he had these mounted fish paintings by this local artist that uses real caught fish, in all of the other empty spots on the wall. We were sitting in front of the door to the dental exam rooms. I could see through the glass window that there was a pile of jumbo stuffed sea creatures, and that as children went into their exam rooms, they got to pick a big stuffed creature to go with them. After some time, it was finally our turn. They called Son1's name, and he nearly bounded through the door to where all of the other big kids had gone. The hygienist ate up his enthusiasm. She just kept telling me how cute he was. Uh huh, she didn't know what was coming.

The hygienist introduced herself as Ms. Margie. She went through a barrage of questions, asking me about how much juice the child drinks to what kind of candy he prefers. Well, he has always preferred milk to juice, so he hardly drinks much juice. I can't stand the thought of sticky candy around my house so I just don't buy it. Besides, Hubby has me so paranoid about cockroaches on the island (they are generally a huge problem, but our paranoia keeps them away from our house) that I just don't buy candy except for special occasions. My pediatrician prescribes vitamins with fluoride since my children were six months old, and insists they are on fluoride tablets until they graduate from high school. Hawaii is one of two states that does not have fluoride in their tap water, except on military bases. This is because the opponents to fluoride insist that Hawaiian water be kept "pure". Therefore, the children in Hawaii have one of the highest rates of tooth decay in the nation. So, I covered most bases to skip Ms. Margie's prepared lecture. I looked really tense, and she asked gently if I was ok. I confessed my fear of Son1 having any cavities, and let her know that I am very passionate about clean teeth, and that I brush his teeth a second time if his insists on doing it himself the first time. I told her I felt like a failure several weeks ago when I got my second adult cavity. "Really?" she asked. No, no, no, only two cavities was not a good thing.

Ms. Margie had the dental exam down to a science. First, she assured Son1 all she was going to do was count his teeth with her pointer. To the rest of us, that is her tooth scraper with the hook on it. While she was counting, she was also looking at the grooves in his teeth. Next, she paraded out her tickly toothbrush (polisher) and buzzed it on his finger. Then she flaunted her special long straw (suction) and touched it to his hand. Finally she whipped out her polish ring and had him smell the toothpaste she was going to use, which was strawberry flavor.
Next she asked him to strut his alligator mouth so she could use her pointer, all the while giving him compliments. Now whose child was this? I sure did not recognize such a compliant child when it comes to teeth.
Afterward, Ms. Margie looked up at me sitting tensely sitting in the mommy chair. She announced she was pretty sure he didn't have any cavities, but the doctor would let me know for sure. She asked Son1 what flavor fluoride he would like, and he chose strawberry. She slapped a big Lilo and Stitch sticker on his shirt that reminded us what time he would be able to eat something. Lastly, she let him choose a prize from her prize box and he chose a little motorcycle.
The doctor came in, and Ms. Margie gave him a quick briefing on my strategies for keeping cavities away. He read his chart, checked out his teeth, and said, "Well R. I am so sorry but he has some cavities." My eyes nearly fell out of my head and rolled across the floor. He immediately realized my disappointment and laughed. "I am just kidding!"
Ms. Margie insisted the doctor take one more picture with us. Son1 screamed CHEESE at the top of him lungs and by the time I gave him a warning look for being so boisterous and tried to take the picture, here is what I ended up with:
Before we left, Son1 played with all of the fun toys one more time, with his dental samples and treasures clutched in one hand.
The best part about our visit to the dentist is his newfound enthusiasm for dental flossers and love for his pretty white teeth at bedtime.