Brushing & Flossing

For whatever reason I have put off taking Carter to the dentist. Fear of cavities, maybe or it could very well be the fact that I think about it and that's as far as I get. The other day I was looking at his front tooth and it looked as if it were chipped but to me it was too far up the tooth to be chipped that high. My first thought... CAVITY! I asked Travis his thoughts, of course... no concern. I called my friend Jill, who is a dental-hygienist, and she suggested I go ahead and take him in (as I expected her to do).

I made the call to a local dentist that many, many moms have recommended. The night before the appointment we practiced on each other. I'd lay Carter back in the recliner, count his teeth, and then explain to him all the things they would do to his teeth. He was excited, but in the back of my mind I was fretting that it would be a complete fiasco once we got to the office. We left after picking him up from school, and off we went. When we arrived he was a little nervous but I told him he could take "Under-dog" in with him and he calmed down.

The office was decorated so nicely. Watermelon wallpaper, cats with braces on their teeth, Christmas music playing, and toys everywhere! The area behind the front desk was painted to look like the sky, and there were hot air balloons on the tiles of the ceiling. Carter was amazed at how cool the office was. "Carter..." his eyes got big, he grabbed his puppy dog and gave me a look of I'm not going back there. We went back together and he was like a leech on my side the entire time. We toured the office and then made our way to the exam room. It was a bright yellow room with frogs all over the walls. There was a t.v. above the exam chair and to my surprise that didn't interest him one bit!!! He wasn't having any part of getting in the chair. The hygienist, Amy, did her very best to calm him down but he was like a bull in a china shop! He bucked, he snorted, and finally we resorted to just letting him sit in my lap.

Dr. Fraser came in, counted his teeth, all twenty of them! She also counted Under-dogs teeth, he also had twenty, but his breath was really stinky!! She assured me that the spot on his front tooth was not a cavity but more of wear and tear from his cross bite. She said we would discuss that at a later visit. She also mentioned that the spacing between his teeth is a very good thing since food can not get stuck as easy, therefore not as many cavities. After her exam, she recommended that we come back at a later date for the cleaning since Carter was so hesitant this go round. I'm sure it was because I was with him!

We did return for the cleaning, and he went back all by himself! Thirty minutes later, he came to the door with a big smile, bright orange balloon and a bag full of goodies. I was so relieved to see that he was not crying. Nothing like a good dental visit! He was given a good report, and told to come back in six months. After his visit, we did some shopping and he bribed me for a pretzel and an Icee. Lucky kid! ;)