Woo hoo, we did it! We finally took our toddler to the dentist!
At Rhett’s 18 month check-up, our doctor told us to make a dentist appointment for our little guy.
I have to be honest, I was a little shocked at first. Babies go to the dentist this young? Eek.
When we got home from the doctor’s appointment, I started doing some research on dentists in the Indianapolis area. I looked on all the mom facebook groups, Yelp, Google, etc. I’m pretty sure at that point I would have been able to write a research paper on all the pediatric dentists in the area, their scores, patient reviews, and overall satisfaction, haha. It took me a few weeks of off and on searching, but we (I lol) finally picked one.
TIP *If you ever want information on someone or something…ask a mom. She’ll find out for you.* 🙂
After finally picking the right doctor for us, we made our first appointment.
I was a little (a lot) nervous about how Rhett would do. Is he going to cry? scream? laugh? not care at all?
He is usually a little antsy when someone he doesn’t know is looking in his ears or listening to his lungs. So…I had no idea how he would react.
On the way to the appointment his water spilled….everywhere. (We’ve started allowing him to keep his cup in the back. He usually puts the water back in the cup hole when he’s done drinking….Obvs didn’t follow through this time, haha.) His clothes were literally soaked and I, of course, didn’t have backup clothes in his diaper bag (tsk tsk).
When we finally arrived to the building, Ross had to pull to the front to let Rhett and I out. It was raining outside, and we didn’t want Rhett any wetter than he already was, haha.
Rhett and I ran into the office (we were 5 minutes late — no surprise #momlife) and waited for someone to call us back.
If this all sounds like a big build up, it’s because it was. I was nervous about how Rhett would feel. How he would behave. Whether or not I was doing a good enough job brushing his teeth. Hey– I’m a first time mom.
Rhett’s name was finally called and we were sent back to get his little teefers cleaned.
His dentist came in and asked a bunch of questions about his health. She asked how often he brushed his teeth and if it was a struggle.
I was completely honest with her. We usually only get to brushing his teeth at night. The mornings are so inconsistent and if I’m being honest… I forget most mornings . She was SOOOO sweet in her responses. She told me she was completely fine with teeth brushing his teeth at night.
She also asked us how he does with brushing his teeth. I told her that he LOVES to brush his teeth….but only if he is in charge. Whenever I try to “help him”, homeboy throws a little tantrum. It can be exhausting. I try to get to all of his teeth, but can hardly see them when he’s trying to push my hands away.
After I told her this, she gave me the best advice. She said to try brushing his teeth on his changing table. This way I can see the teeth better. She suggested twenty good seconds rather than two minutes of off and on brushing.
At that point, she asked Ross to hold Rhett with Rhett’s body facing towards Ross. Rhett laid his head in the dentist’s lap and she went to cleaning.
The bright light made Rhett a little nervous. He didn’t like all of the tools in his mouth… I mean who does? Haha! But, she immediately began singing his favorite song, “The Wheels on the Bus” and Ross joined in with her.
This really seemed to calm him down, along with his mama hovering over and joining in on the singing too. 🙂
The dentist cleaned Rhett’s teeth and said they looked perfect! She mentioned that his front two teeth were just a tad bit forward from sucking his thumb, but that she wasn’t worried about it. (She said to try to start preventing the thumb sucking when he’s four.)
He has 16 out of his 20 baby teeth and the final four are his back molars. He’ll be getting those when he’s two!
One of his lower teeth was a bit spacey, so I asked her about that. She said she actually likes spacing in toddler teeth, because it gives his molars room to move in.
I was sooooo relieved. Not only were his teeth in perfect shape, mostly in, and without any cavities… his first dentist appointment was ovaaaa.
Rhett received his little goody bag to take home and OFF he ran. He got TWO stickers from the sticker jar (dogs and Toy Story, of course) and started walking around with the biggest smile on his face.
I tried to get a picture of him holding his toothbrush, but he was too busy flirting with all the dentist and dentist assistants… that child! 🙂
Needless to say, his first dentist appointment was a wonderful experience.
We’ll be back around the six month mark– ready for dentist appointment number two!
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