Milestone Accomplished!

Today, we reached another milestone in Boy Pop's life... We had our first dental visit! Yes, he will be 5 in two months and I know that some kids start going to the dentist at 2 or 3, but we waited.

Can I just say that I L.O.V.E. our dental office? I do. I never had a "pediatric" dentist and quite frankly was wondering what the benefit of one might be. No more! I was so nervous about this visit because I know my child and I know how he feels about people touching his mouth that I was prepared for a child that needed to be restrained.

Here we are waiting to go in. You can't see it, but behind Boy Pop are TVs, video games, and toys.

The main reason for this visit was to deal with a bump on Boy Pop's gum that resulted from his accident back in April. We were concerned that there might be some residual damage as his gums were not healing as quickly as we'd like.

The dental technician allowed Boy Pop to touch and feel every single item used. At one point, he asked about the apparatus that is in his mouth above, "Is it sharp?" Once he touched it, he allowed it to be put in his mouth for x-rays.

So we went in and had his entire mouth x-rayed. This was one of the things I was nervous about, but the technician was incredible! She told him what was going on step-by-step. He asked questions about the equipment. She answered his questions and let him touch each and every item that would come near him, including the x-ray film, the machine, her gloves, and the apron that covered him.

When it was over, she showed him how she scanned the pictures and let him see the x-rays of his teeth! That was pretty cool for both of us, actually.

Now comes the really cool part...

When we go to the exam room, she asked Boy Pop if he'd like to watch a movie. He said yes, but looked at the location of the TV (positioned directly above the chair) and then to the chair, which was in a sitting up position and then to me with a question in his eyes. I said, "Go on, climb into the chair," and he tried to climb in so that he was laying on the seat. He just didn't know what to do!

We got him situated the right way, and she reclined the chair and he loved it!

The light they used was so bright, but no worries! They provide sunglasses for the patients.

The dentist came in and took a look at his mouth and at the specific area on his gums and made some recommendations that I did not like (more on that later... maybe), then gave him a clean bill of dental health! Hooray! NO Decay! NO Cavities! Great teeth!

Mama then breathed a great big sigh of relief!

The polishing part tickled!

Finally, it was time to polish those teeth. Boy Pop got his choice of flavors (he chose cookie dough) and the hygenist went to work. Once again, Boy Pop got to touch everything first, so he was not surprised by anything. He got to experience "Mr. Thirsty" (the water suction thing), flossing, and also get the sticky flouride treatment.

At the end, he got to pick out a prize from the vast wall of prize bins. He, of course, chose a Transformers tatoo.

I'm just grateful and thankful that this first visit went well. The first experience sets the tone for how future ones go and this one was first rate! No restraints necessary!