First trip to the Dentist
I took Michael to the dentist for the first time today! Well, I had tried to take him to a regular dentist in the past (me and wife's dentist), but he wasn't having any of it. That was a long time ago, about a year ago.
He's grown and matured tremendously since then.
This time, I took him to a children's dentist. I was a bit apprehensive about going (since the last time I tried to take him to a dentist, it was a disaster). When we got to the parking lot, he started screaming and insisted that he was not going in. I unbuckled him from car seat, and tried to get him out. He rushed to the other side of the car. So, I opened the other rear door. He crawled to the front seat. I opened the front passenger door. He sat in the middle, on the cupholder/armrest thing.
Finally, I decided to just grab him and drag him in, even though he was kicking and crying. He actually calmed down pretty quickly when he saw that Daddy was going to take him into see the dentist no matter what he did ... he stopped crying before we got through the door.
He waited in the waiting room quietly, watching Polar Express on their TV. It was a very cool waiting room, they had an XBox 360 and 3 Playstation 3s hooked up to TVs. They had bead maze table and 4 machines which took tokens and dispensed prizes in those transparent plastic eggs that one often sees at a mall or store. They gave out tokens to kids as rewards for seeing the dentist.
The dental hygienist, Allison, came out and called "Michael Tenn". He didn't say a word. She looked at him, and he held onto the sides of his chair with both hands, hunched down a bit, and glared at her. Allison was able to pretty quickly get him in. I held his hand and he walked nervously down the hall, peering into the other patient rooms.
We got to his room, and Allison recommended that I sit in the dentist's chair myself and hold him on my lap, which I did. She let him touch all the instruments before putting in his mouth, so he saw it wasn't sharp. He was really good ... he was cooperative and let her look in his mouth and check his teeth, and even let Allison do a cleaning.
He was also very good when Dr. Erika came in and checked his teeth. Both the dentist and hygienist said that he has very good home care ... his gums are a healthy pink and his teeth look great. No cavities. Only recommendation was to get him fluoride water (which we did).
He actually had fun going to the dentist. Was very happy that he had a good experience ... next time should be easy. :-D
He's grown and matured tremendously since then.
This time, I took him to a children's dentist. I was a bit apprehensive about going (since the last time I tried to take him to a dentist, it was a disaster). When we got to the parking lot, he started screaming and insisted that he was not going in. I unbuckled him from car seat, and tried to get him out. He rushed to the other side of the car. So, I opened the other rear door. He crawled to the front seat. I opened the front passenger door. He sat in the middle, on the cupholder/armrest thing.
Finally, I decided to just grab him and drag him in, even though he was kicking and crying. He actually calmed down pretty quickly when he saw that Daddy was going to take him into see the dentist no matter what he did ... he stopped crying before we got through the door.
He waited in the waiting room quietly, watching Polar Express on their TV. It was a very cool waiting room, they had an XBox 360 and 3 Playstation 3s hooked up to TVs. They had bead maze table and 4 machines which took tokens and dispensed prizes in those transparent plastic eggs that one often sees at a mall or store. They gave out tokens to kids as rewards for seeing the dentist.
The dental hygienist, Allison, came out and called "Michael Tenn". He didn't say a word. She looked at him, and he held onto the sides of his chair with both hands, hunched down a bit, and glared at her. Allison was able to pretty quickly get him in. I held his hand and he walked nervously down the hall, peering into the other patient rooms.
We got to his room, and Allison recommended that I sit in the dentist's chair myself and hold him on my lap, which I did. She let him touch all the instruments before putting in his mouth, so he saw it wasn't sharp. He was really good ... he was cooperative and let her look in his mouth and check his teeth, and even let Allison do a cleaning.
He was also very good when Dr. Erika came in and checked his teeth. Both the dentist and hygienist said that he has very good home care ... his gums are a healthy pink and his teeth look great. No cavities. Only recommendation was to get him fluoride water (which we did).
He actually had fun going to the dentist. Was very happy that he had a good experience ... next time should be easy. :-D
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