At the Dentist

It's been well over a month now, but Caroline had her first dentist appointment this year! Her Pediatrician recommended she go sometime before she was 3, so since that's this Thursday (where has the time gone?) I went ahead and took her. To prepare her for the trip, I took her with me to my dentist appointment. My dentist and his staff were so sweet to her and I know it helped her not be afraid of her dentist. I was really impressed by the Pediatric Dentist we saw. It's a father and daughter team who work together and the father is also an orthodontist so if she needs braces someday we won't have to find another office. I like that. She already sees more doctors than Aaron and I combined. Anyway, 2 good friends also recommended this office and it's clear to me why they did. When we arrived, they brought Caroline back to play with some toys.



You could tell they wanted her to feel comfortable there. After she had played for about ten minutes (long enough for me to fill out the paperwork), a sweet hygienist came over and let Caroline pick out a bracelet to wear.



She wrote Caroline's name on the bracelet and then let her pick out a toothbrush. She said she needed Caroline to show her how to brush teeth. Caroline was happy to oblige. She had Caroline brush her teeth for her and let her look at herself in a small hand-held mirror that the hygienist called a "princess mirror."



(Picking out a Dora toothbrush.)



(Showing that she knows how to brush her teeth.)

After Caroline brushed her teeth, the hygienist showed her all the tools she was going to use that day to clean her teeth. She took the electric brush and let Caroline feel it on her hand so she would know what it was going to feel like. I was so impressed with how well the office worked to help her be comfortable and feel involved in her first appointment.



She gave Caroline the "princess mirror" while she cleaned her teeth. Caroline loved watching the cleaning!



She did great while the dentist "counted" her teeth. The verdict was that we are taking good care of her teeth! No cavities and all her teeth seem to be coming in just fine. The dentist told me that I should expect Caroline to lose her teeth in the same order they came in. I had never heard that before, but thought it was an interesting tidbit!



Caroline and her dentist!

A couple of bonus shots!