I fed the kids a snack and then did a thorough brushing and flossing prior to leaving the house. I dry brushed, brushed with paste and flossed. As children of a dental hygienist I have high standards. I made sure to hit all the trouble spots I see when I am working. I dropped Rhett off at our neighbor's and we drove around the corner to the office.
Max and Kate made themselves right at home and got busy coloring. I specifically chose a pediatric dentist so it would be tailored towards little people. This office was cute and had a jungle theme.
First stop was x-rays. Kate protested immediately so I told her I would hold her and we would do it together. The dental assistants were nice but probably thought I was annoying. I don't think they knew I was a hygienist but I kept taking charge of the situation, albeit nicely. Kate would bite down on the film and keep chewing on it instead of holding still. It took 4 tries before we got a decent film and that was with my explicit instruction and finally demonstrating to her what I wanted done.
Max watched us and was excited but apprehensive when it was his turn. He did well and also chewed on the film. And this was only for occlusals! There was no way we were going to get bitewings out of these kids!
The hygienist took Kate back while I was doing x-rays with Max and I heard her crying. Sad mom! I hoped the lady was being happy with her because she seemed really grumpy. She didn't really interact with the kids at all, explain what she was doing, nothing. I guess I am just comparing her to what I normally do and that is show the kid all of the tools, talk about sugar bugs, tickling their teeth, etc. Heck, she didn't even talk to me!
Kate did fine after I came and sat by her and she was happy when it was over and immediately wanted to show her daddy her clean teeth.
Max again was pretty apprehensive and kept saying that he was falling off the chair. He didn't want to scoot up to the top where the head rest is but with the help of a kind assistant holding his hand and me sitting on the chair with him and holding his other hand he did okay. He didn't like the crunchy prophy paste and didn't understand how to use the suction.
They got a token to get a prize and a sticker with their toothbrush and were pretty excited about that.
While the hygienist didn't impress me I am happy with the doctor and we will continue to see this office. I was worried about a possible lesion on one of Max's front teeth that I have noticed and as it stands right now both kids are cavity free.
I am proud of these big kids!
3 comments:
Aw, they're so cute!
If you ever do want to try out a new office try Timber Falls Pediatric Dentistry. My boys have been going there for years and I love them. REALLY kid friendly, they even got Samuel to finally sit and get his teeth cleaned and let me tell you...I never thought that would happen with his ASD.
And Dr. Quakenbush (yes, that's his real name...lol) is very nice, takes his time, answers all your questions, etc.
Wow I feel like I just did a commercial.
Such an exciting daay for a momma hygienist! Although it stinks that they got a crappy hygienist. Why even work at a Pedo office if you aren't so good with kids? The first visit is all about getting the kids to love the dentist and also educating the parent about how to care for their childs teeth, which it doesn't sound like she even tried to do. She didn't do either of those. It bothers me that there are hygienists out there that actually think the prophy was the most important part there. Anyways... I say you clean them yourself next time, especially since you will be working now.
That's pretty impressive how good they were, both of my kids screamed their first time at the dentist, but they were both two. Mine had to be sedated the first few times to even be examined. Maybe your kids could sense your inner hygienist coming out and so they behaved!
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