Our little girl was beyond excited about her appointment and counted down for it much like she counted down for her birthday. Each day, she would ask us. "How many more school days until my dentist appointment?" (Lord, please help her retain that enthusiasm!!)
She was a champ at the dentist and savored every minute of the experience. She loved the chair so much that she asked if we could get one at home. I said that it was too big for our house, to which she replied that we could find room. I told her that we'd probably have to get rid of her toys to have room... shockingly, she agreed that would be OK. Seriously??? What child offers to get rid of her toys in exchange for a dental exam chair?
The hygienist was wonderful with Annika. She took the time to clearly explain everything that she was going to do and let Annika examine all of the tools.instruments she planned on using. Annika payed very close attention and didn't miss a single morsel of information. The hygienist counted Annika's teeth (20 in all, just what a 5-year-old should have) and then polished/flossed her teeth. After that, the dentist came in and took a peek and that's when the appointment took a bit of a turn (at least from my perspective). She saw some things with her magical binoculars (I'm sure there's a more clinical term for them, but don't ask me what it was!) and asked for two x-rays.
The dentist asked me if Annika's molars have always been this close together. Umm... yeah; we didn't move them. Apparently, Annika's molars are so close together that they touch. The problem is the icky yuckies that cause cavities love when teeth are too close together. Because all her molars touch another, 7 of her 8 molars have developed "shadows", aka early-onset cavities. I about fell out of my chair when the dentist told me that. She was very consoling and told me we did everything right, but these things just happen because kids have really thin enamel and tend to eat a lot of carbs. (That didn't ease my desire to weep... but I did manage to keep it together). The dentist assured me things were caught very early and Annika will probably not even need to be numbed when the cavities are treated and one or two might only need to be sanded down a bit.
Even though we left with my heart in my toes, Annika had a LOVELY time at the dentist and can't wait to go back. The toy closet and her new princess toothbrush were the icing on the proverbial dental cake.
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| Watching the hygienist fill a cup with the water sprayer and then suck up the water with "Mr. Thirsty" |
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| Getting ready for the exam |
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| Getting those 20 teeth all polished up |
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| Annika wearing her superstar glasses and fashionable paper bib |
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