First Dental Visit
I am really regretting not having our camera with me for Charlie’s first time at the dentist. His little body in the big reclined dental chair was so sweet. Plus, he kept on his purple and green hat for the exam. This, paired with the powder blue drool bib and some very large, bright pink sunglasses provided by the dentist, made him look so hilariously adorable. He followed all the instructions well and loved guessing how many teeth he had (“three?” “four?”). When the dentist asked him to bite down, Charlie repeatedly opened and closed his mouth like a puppet. Precious.
I am extremely thankful we went somewhere kid-friendly. All they did was introduce him to the tools, touch his teeth a bit, “count them”, and get him used to the office. I held his hand when he was a bit nervous in the reclining and rising chair, but otherwise, he was completely comfortable. An assistant said he was the most polite patient they’d ever had so he could have two toys. He picked two of the exact same toy. I’m not sure if he misunderstood or really wanted two plastic bunnies.
there really is no other word for charlie other than … delightful!! i’m curious about dental care for little ones. i had heard the recommendation that kiddos see a dentist from 1 year old … this seemed young to me and our friend (and yours!), dr. fann, assured us that we could wait a bit as long as we were brushing and keeping an eye out for discoloration. i’m interested that you guys waited till 3 … and a time when charlie was clearly able to participate well and tolerate this new experience. where this kid-friendly dentist of yours?
March 3rd, 2010 at 12:58 pmYou’re so sweet, Jess. I heard that the APA just began recommending a 1-yr visit. I’m not sure why, but I imagine it has a lot more to do with parent education than anything else…you know, juice and coke in bottles at night in the crib might not be such a good idea….that kind of stuff ;) The old rec was 3. We’ll go again in 6-mo for an attempt at an actual cleaning, as this was purely introductory and a screening.
March 3rd, 2010 at 3:27 pmWe went to Gentle Dental, which is fantastically located in the same building as Anthony’s and has a view of the sound from several chairs. I have no idea if the whole practice is this good, but the hygienist we had was fantastic. And the dentist was fine.