First Dentist

At LB's three year well visit in January, our pediatrician told us to go ahead and schedule his first visit to the dentist. Did I mention that was in January? Well, I put it off and put it off some more because that's how I roll when I am nervous about something. I kept telling myself that as long as he goes at some point before he is four then it's fine. I actually do that think that is true but I would be lying if I didn't own up to some avoidance behavior. When my mom planned her visit for June, I decided that was the time. I thought LB would do better with her there and let's face it I thought I might need to hold her hand too. I have been dreading LB's first dentist appointment since the day I realized he had some oral sensitivities and defensiveness. I kept thinking to myself, "No way is he going to let a dentist any where near his mouth. He will just have to go his whole life without seeing the dentist." It was a long process for us to even get LB comfortable with a toothbrush in his mouth and we worked on that in our final sessions of occupational therapy. During his twos, he did get better. He also started letting us give him medicine and got less and less defensive. But I still saw potential for disaster despite the signs that it might be okay.

In the weeks leading up to the appointment, I started talking to LB about the dentist. I explained it was like going to see a doctor but they would only be looking at his teeth. We talked about how they would count his teeth and clean them. My mom got him a book, Molly Goes to the Dentist, and we read that several times. We happened to bump into our dentist, who is also our friend, at the Memorial Day Parade. LB has met him several times before, as he is a fellow Ethiopian adoptive parent, but I had never explained to LB that he was a dentist. I had actually talked to our friend about LB several times and he assured me not to worry and if LB couldn't do it then we would try again in a few months. It's nice to have a understanding and sympathetic friend who also happens be to a dentist.

The morning of the big day LB started to put up a fight. As he usually does, he asked if we were going to the "tiny airport" and I told him that we were going to the dentist. That got a big, fat "NO!" Can you blame him? So we talked and talked some more and came up with a plan. The appointment wasn't until 10am so I told him we could go to the "tiny airport" for a little bit, then go to the dentist and then if he did a good job we could go to the store and buy a new plane. He accepted that deal. (We make a lot of deals around here. He is one of the best negotiators I know.) As we were pulling out of the driveway he said, "Mommy, first we are going to the tiny airport. Then the dentist and then to the store. Do you understand my words?" My mom and I almost lost it. I told him that I understood.

When we arrived LB was in good spirits thanks to several jets we saw at the airport and he had his teeth filled with popcorn. Oops. Probably the worst snack you could have before going to the dentist. They called him back right away and he was clearly nervous but holding it together. The dental hygienist did a fabulous job with him. She let him touch everything and explained each step a long the way. LB loves to see and touch things before they go anywhere near the rest of the body so this was a great approach for him. And he did it! The whole check up! She slowly eased him into each step and he complied with each one. He was so brave I could hardly stand it. My mom snapped a few photos of the visit.

Can you see that his buddy, Mousie, made the visit too? So precious. His face in that first photo makes me sad because you can tell he is so nervous. But he really did awesome. I was flying high all day. Well, I was mostly flying high. Our dentist thinks LB will be making his first trip to the orthodontist at age 7. Did I mention LB only has 19 teeth instead of the 20 they are supposed to have? Yeah. He's got lots of dental work in his future. Oh well. This was a big milestone and I was so proud of him!