Our First Trip to the Dentist

Today I took both kids to the dentist for the first time. I can see already how life is different for the second child than the first--Ben went for his first checkup at age 4, and Janae had her first appointment at age 19 months.

Anyway, one of them did GREAT, while the other--shall we say--struggled. Any guesses?

If you guessed that Janae did great, you certainly don't know Janae :)

 

Janae did a great job brushing her teeth at home this morning, and that was the end of that! She enjoyed the fish tank in the waiting room, and also the pumpkin pie scented candle that was burning on the receptionist's desk. Actually, she wanted to sing "Happy Birthday" and then blow the candle out. I should have recognized this as a bad omen. (Actually, I shouldn't have needed an omen--I was taking a 19-MONTH OLD TO THE DENTIST.) Of course, Janae proceeded to scream (a high-pitched scream, too) every time the hygienist made any move on BEN.

 

Ben was a model dental patient, just as I expected him to be. It helped that there was a TV screen on the ceiling. The hygienist had trouble even getting Ben's attention when she wanted him to choose a floride flavor--he was so deep in his TV trance that he chose "cherry flavored" floride rather than "cookie dough," "marshmallow," or even "cotton candy." (I don't know if it's just a guy thing or if it's because I am such a TV nazi and restrict him to less than an hour a day!). He wasn't bothered by anything she wanted to do in his mouth.

 

Given Janae's shrieking, the dentist thought it would be a good idea to let her see the toy chest with Ben and not even have her sit in the chair. I think he was scared :) A nurse had given her a windmill during Ben's cleaning to help calm her down, and she wouldn't even pose with THAT when we got home. You can see how angry she was at the very idea!

 

Anyway, Ben's teeth are now sparkling clean and whiter than I've ever seen them. And Janae . . . well, we'll try again next time--if the dentist is feeling brave!