Today Lillian had her first dental appointment and I am happy to report that no one was bloodied or maimed during the appointment!
Her appointment was at one of the BUSIEST pediatric dental offices in town. The appointment was for 10:00 am but we were not called back until 10:30 am. There was a climbing thins that kept Lillian occupied and a video game that she watched older children play. She would not move when the hygienist called her name so I had to carry her back to the treatment room. The room had about 10 different stations in it so there was no real privacy during the exam. Our hygienist says the open space helps children feel less afraid but it also gives you and the children a chance to witness other children screaming and throwing a fit. There are a few private rooms you can request.
When it was time for the exam, the hygienist put on her Cinderella gloves. Lillian told her, "I only just like princesses." That was how most of the interaction went between Lillian and the hygienist and dentist. Anything they said to her she quickly refuted. For the exam, Lillian sat on my lap facing me and then laid her head down in the hygienist's/dentists lap. She was a bit resistant to doing that but once we got her in the position she did fine. A little squirming now and then but she listened and opened her mouth and DID NOT BITE ANYONE!!!
The hygienist called the cleaning paste magic princess toothpaste and apparently is tastes good because Lillian kept trying to lick the paste off the cleaning wand as it entered her mouth. The hygienist even was able to floss her teeth. Lillian did seem to have some yellow staining on her teeth so the hygienist was able to use the teeth tickler to remove it. They did encourage us to try and part with the pacifier during sleep. When Lillian heard that she said, "No, I just use my pink pacifier when sleep. Big girls get the pink ones." That will not be fun.
After the appointment, Lillian got a goody bag with a toothbrush, stickers and some floss. She also got a token that she was able to use to pick out a present. Lillian used her token for a bracelet (which she broke after lunch). The dentist put a fluoride varnish on her teeth so little missy does not have to brush her teeth tonight. Lillian also seems to have very deep pits and grooves on her molars so we were warned to make sure we brush the molars real well. The dentist also congratulated Lillian for not using a bottle or sippy cup - apparently a lot of 2. 5 year-olds still use them.
We made our next appointment and headed over to a local toy store and picked out a dragon marionette puppet because she was so good. Then we went out to lunch and Lillian ate an entire quesadilla. Normally she only eats 1/4 of it but I guess the dentist made her hungry.
I brought along the camera to document the experience:
After the exam with her goody bag, wand and bracelet:
