Dentist Visits

I would apologize for this being long, but I bet you get that about me by now. I can't help it. I just like to be thorough. We recently got finished with a series of 5 dentist visits for Tyler and Allison in approximately a month and a half. Here's the saga (and a little background knowledge to go with it!).

Tyler's first dentist appoinment at age 2 1/2 ended up being a traumatic experience for the both of us. Billy and I suspected he needed to go in the first place because little black dots showed up on his back molars, despite our best efforts of brushing his teeth daily. I found a Pediatric dentist, took him in, and our suspicions were confirmed. Tyler is not a timid kid. He did GREAT with the cleaning and wasn't nervous at all. When it came time to fill the cavities on his 2nd visit, however, they basically tied him down, stuck a scarey mask over his face, and filled 3 or 4 cavities withOUT even numbing, all while telling me his screams meant he was angry - not in pain. I think NOT! Quite a horrible experience for a Momma to watch and even tell about without getting teary-eyed! So, needless to say, I still beat myself up about the whole ordeal and have put off taking him back to the dentist until present day. Luckily, he doesn't remember any of it and had no apphrehension about going. Unfortunately, he ended up having a mouthful of cavities to fill again (5 total). Thankfully, we were referred to an AMAZING dentist this time around (thanks Yvette)! Here's THAT story...

Once again, Tyler wasn't scared at all. He acted as if he'd done this a thousand times before. He walked back, climbed in the chair, and let them go to work. He got to choose a movie to watch during his cleaning. Out of the selection, he chose Cars. He chose chocolate flavored toothpaste and a Lightning McQueen toothbrush. He also chose a Lightning sticker and a green T-Rex frisbee from the prize box. Dr. Drew expressed over and over what a great patient Tyler was. She noted that she could tell we took good care of his teeth. They looked great, he has healthy gums, etc. Tyler just has extremely deep crevices in his molars. She said that no matter how much brushing we do, it's almost impossible to get into those crevices. After viewing Tyler's x-rays and discussing what needed to be done (fillings, possible nerve treatments and caps, and sealant to protect his molars), we set up another appointment and were on our way.

He had 3 cavities to fill (right side only) on his first follow-up visit, and ended up needing to get a cap on his very back molar. Despite the fact that prior to the visit he said he wanted his Mommy to go back with him, he walked right back with the nurse without even looking back! He's such a brave boy! He was very excited about his new "dinosaur" tooth, as Dr. Drew called it. At first he called it his gold tooth. He proudly called Grandma Hamby to tell her all about it since she was at the cabin. "I love my gold tooth!" he told her. (It's actually the normal silver cap, he just called it gold at first.) He even let Allison touch it once his mouth "woke up." (They had given him a special sticker that stated, "Teeth, gums, lips asleep. Do NOT disturb." So he explained to her that she would have to wait until they were done sleeping, per the sticker's directions.) Back at home during lunch, Tyler was trying to drink from a straw. After taking a sip, the juice came running out of his mouth on the side that was numb. He let out a concerned and helpless "Mooooommy?!" so I told him to try drinking on the other side of his mouth. It went well for the next sip, but then it happened again on the third. "Mommy, I accidently got too much and it leaked out again because my lips are crooked!" I had to chuckle. That night, he came to the realization that this new tooth cover couldn't and wasn't coming off. He came to me with a very concerned look while pulling at it with his thumb nail. Then he exclaimed, "It won't come off!" I had to explain that it was permanent until his tooth fell out around age 12. He wasn't too happy at first, but was understanding of the fact that it was protecting his real tooth so it wouldn't have to be pulled.

On his 2nd follow-up visit, he had two more cavities filled (left side) and needed another cap on the back molar again. When he was all finished, Dr. Drew asked how he was and he said, "I did much better than last time!" When I asked him why he thought that he said, "because it didn't even hurt me this time!" (I guess he was a little uncomfortable with the pressure he felt when the first cap was put on.) He was also pleased to now have a matching set of caps on the back molars. After the appointment, he decided he would wait and eat lunch this time "when his lips weren't crooked anymore."

The 4th visit came the very next day after Tyler complained of a pain when brushing his teeth that night and the next morning. I took him in, they checked things out, and came to the conclusion that his gums were a bit inflamed from the cap. Thankfully, it turns out that's all it was. He's been 100% ever since and has adjusted to his dino teeth quite well!

And here's Allison's story...

My Allison has always been a little more reserved when it comes to new people, situations, and surroundings, so I was a little nervous about her first experience with the dentist. Since she was able to come along on all of Tyler's dentist visits, however, she was able to observe the situation, get to know her surroundings, watch Tyler, and discover that visiting the dentist was actually a fun experience. She could NOT wait for her turn in the chair. After all of Tyler's dental work was complete, I made the appointment for Allison's first cleaning. I showed her the appointment card (which had a picture of Dora on it), and she immediately confiscated it from me. That card remained with her the entire week until her appointment. She carried it everywhere with her. If she did happen to sit it down somewhere, she would later think of it and question where it was asking, "Where's my appointment card???"

She was SO excited the day of her appointment. She ran right into the office and started playing as she had done on the previous visits, but I could tell she was a little more hyper than normal. She could barely contain all the excitement built up inside her! When the nurse came to get her, she started jumping up and down and got the most excited look on her face. Dr. Drew was so happy about her excitement! Allison got to watch Alvin and the Chipmunks during her cleaning and chose pink watermelon flavored toothpaste. For her prize bag, she chose a red and purple Eeyore toothbrush, a Hannah Montana sparkly sticker, and a blue flower ring from the treasure box. She did amazing and was the ideal little patient (to not even be quite 3 yet!). Dr. Drew bragged to everyone that she was the best patient of the year for her age! And imagine how thrilled I was to learn she has NO cavities! They all think Tyler and Allison are the cutest and sweetest! We agree of course!

Later that day, Allison told me in a very disappointed voice, "I forgot to tell the dentist I wanted cavity!" Apparently she was hoping to have a silver tooth of her own. :) I explained to her that she didn't need a silver tooth, and that her teeth are beautiful without being silver. She is content with us telling her that she has "sparkly teeth" instead of silver teeth.  This is what Dr. Drew told her when she painted the fluoride treatment on with "birthday cake frosting." Good doctors certainly are a blessing!

Just a quick note:  Tyler was 2 years and 7 months in his pictures while Allison was 2 years and 10 months in hers.  How is it that Allison looks so much more grown up to me when there's only a 3 month difference???  Maybe it's got something to do with my perspective on the difference in time?