So a friend of mine mentioned that she took her son for his 1st dental visit. It got me thinking about how I should take Stinx. I was looking through the local children's magazine and checked out all the Pediatric Dental adds. I chose a pediatric dentist who was in the same quadrant of the city and who had particularly modern advertisement (yes, I guess I am that shallow). I also saw some positive comments about this dental office on a forum.
The appointment was this morning at 8:45am. It took me awhile to fill out all the paper work. Then we were brought to a room which was very very dull and boring looking. It was orange and had a dental chair in it. That was about it. It seemed sterile and cold. This is where a dentist came and talk to us about a few things. She asked some questions and then said she'd look at his teeth. She got Stinx to straddle me and then lay his head back into her lap. He looked a bit nervous but let her brush his teeth... for a few seconds. Then the panic set it. Then he was crying. the dentist and the assistant kept saying this was normal and it actually made it easier because they could see his teeth. Then it was over quickly. Thank goodness, it was a bit painful for me.
She said everything looks good. She told me that I should help Stinx brush his teeth until he is 8 or 9 years old. Wow. Ok. And I guess the best way to brush them at this age is the way I had helped her. A two man job. So Dad and I will have to try that out.
The she asked if he gets a bottle at night. Argh... I should have known this subject would come up. I told her that he nurses before bed. She asked if I brushed his teeth afterwords... I said Nope. She said I should "wean him from that habit" and also suggested that I at minimum wipe his teeth with a washcloth. I think the washcloth is do-able.. but outright telling me to wean my child??? Bizzaro woman. She said the word "wean" a couple times. And perhaps she just meant the bedtime nurse, but still it sure rubbed me the wrong way. The second time she said I should wean she said it would be a few rough nights.... Oh boy, that I didn't like. I clearly told her my son was not dependant on nursing to sleep and that his dad often puts him to bed.
So I was a bit disappointed in this dentist office. I wish the environment was more "fun". When my friend told me about her family dentist's office it sounded awesome. This place was dull, it didn't seem much different than a regular family dentist. And then the crying during the exam was a bit much. I heard most 1st visits are just to make the child comfortable in a dentist office - not to scare them and make them cry... And then the weaning subject just topped the cake of disaster.
Oh well... Guess we'll try the other Pediatric Dentist in the local professional building. Serves me right judging the office by the nice advertisement.
The appointment was this morning at 8:45am. It took me awhile to fill out all the paper work. Then we were brought to a room which was very very dull and boring looking. It was orange and had a dental chair in it. That was about it. It seemed sterile and cold. This is where a dentist came and talk to us about a few things. She asked some questions and then said she'd look at his teeth. She got Stinx to straddle me and then lay his head back into her lap. He looked a bit nervous but let her brush his teeth... for a few seconds. Then the panic set it. Then he was crying. the dentist and the assistant kept saying this was normal and it actually made it easier because they could see his teeth. Then it was over quickly. Thank goodness, it was a bit painful for me.
She said everything looks good. She told me that I should help Stinx brush his teeth until he is 8 or 9 years old. Wow. Ok. And I guess the best way to brush them at this age is the way I had helped her. A two man job. So Dad and I will have to try that out.
The she asked if he gets a bottle at night. Argh... I should have known this subject would come up. I told her that he nurses before bed. She asked if I brushed his teeth afterwords... I said Nope. She said I should "wean him from that habit" and also suggested that I at minimum wipe his teeth with a washcloth. I think the washcloth is do-able.. but outright telling me to wean my child??? Bizzaro woman. She said the word "wean" a couple times. And perhaps she just meant the bedtime nurse, but still it sure rubbed me the wrong way. The second time she said I should wean she said it would be a few rough nights.... Oh boy, that I didn't like. I clearly told her my son was not dependant on nursing to sleep and that his dad often puts him to bed.
So I was a bit disappointed in this dentist office. I wish the environment was more "fun". When my friend told me about her family dentist's office it sounded awesome. This place was dull, it didn't seem much different than a regular family dentist. And then the crying during the exam was a bit much. I heard most 1st visits are just to make the child comfortable in a dentist office - not to scare them and make them cry... And then the weaning subject just topped the cake of disaster.
Oh well... Guess we'll try the other Pediatric Dentist in the local professional building. Serves me right judging the office by the nice advertisement.
