Boys’ First Dentist Visit…We Survived…

Talk about a cute dentist office. It’s like you walked into a wonderland with everything but a real rainbow. The hygienist took Ethan’s Xrays first and he did great. Keeping the mouthguard in place was tricky for him but he did awesome!

Watching his big bro didn’t give the little bro any confidence and he was totally against putting the guard in his mouth! The hygienist gave Tyler a pass on the X-rays but I saw the storm approaching.

Next up were the cleanings. Ethan rocked the sunglasses they give to block the bright lights. He looked super cool and super chill. He was SO GOOD! He really surprised me. Not to say I had no faith but I expected such a new situation to make him a little uneasy. Nope, he was Mr. Chill. I have to credit John for this. He has made their dental care a top priority. He started the flossing routine by having them lay in his lap while he flosses them. This was great preparation, at least for Ethan, when time came to lay back in the patient chair. Ethan was so excited to tell them he does “flossies” at home. The hygienist got a kick out of that.

Ethan had on his Superman shirt and every staff person made sure to go along with it. So cute. After his cleaning he was able to get prizes and stickers from the treat corner. The hygienist had them pick out their own toothbrushes to take home too.

Next up, Tyler. She said his cleaning was optional. I should have opted out. Seeing my hesitation,  she offered to take us to a sequestered, private room “in case he cries”. Ummmm…I expected crying. But when his turn came-he laid down in my lap-the screaming began and didn’t end until she was done. I’m pretty sure I was sweating like a farm animal at this point and wondering why the hell these practices don’t have a bar for the parents…as our prize.

When he was done, it was Tyler’s prize time. He was SO…DAMN…PISSED…he didn’t even want to pick out a prize. There were baby curse words flying through his head. He had no interest. The appointment still wasn’t over yet and I felt like a prisoner. We went back into the private room to meet the dentist, see Ethan’s xrays, and discuss treatment. This was when Ethan got nervous. He cried into my leg and all we were doing was looking at his xrays. I told the dentist that I think the whole experience was catching up to him now. He was fine after a moment.

It was really interesting to see the X-rays. The top left box shows his front teeth from the front. Remember when he was 15 months and bumped his two front teeth? Welp the top of his two front teeth show that his roots are barely holding onto the two teeth. That’s from the trauma of bumping his teeth. It’s no biggie unless he knocks them again at which point they will likely fall out. He has to hold on about a year. The doctor said those two teeth and his bottom teeth are already wobbling. Tooth Fairy will be coming to our house! He teethed so early so I bet he’ll lose them early too. The top right photo shows his teeth from behind so the top teeth are his current teeth and the giant horses teeth at the bottom are his adult teeth-in-waiting. They are huge. The dentist said they are already crowding and haven’t even broken through yet! He said there isn’t enough space for them to come down so E-Man has some orthodontia ahead. The bottom left photo shows his back molars. The itty bitty white spot at the bottom left is his 6 year molar. Two of his current molars have cavities so we have another appointment lined up for him in a couple weeks. Not looking forward to that one at all. It’ll require he be sedated with oral meds and then laughing gas. If he isn’t sedated it will take multiple visits versus one. Once the sedation sets in-about an hour-they take him in for the treatment and I have to wait outside. They said it’s only a half an hour but I know it’ll feel like forever. I hope the experience doesn’t make him hate the dentist because he did so well today! The bottom right photo are his opposite molars.

After reviewing that, the dentist looked at Ethan’s teeth and big brother was done. Next up, Tyler. Next up, more screaming. It was a shorter look into his mouth but he was so upset at this point and probably in shock over a second eval. He screamed and was so upset that at one point his face showed a scream but there was no sound. I was afraid he couldn’t breath. Then came the sound.

Once again I was sweating like a farm animal but it was a final prize time and Tyler did bite the bait. We checked out and high-tailed it home. Dentist day, complete.

Here are some pics of SuperEthan doing a Super job at the appointment.

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This is the only photo of Tyler…for obvious reasons.

#Dentist