Andrew was excited and curious about his dentist appointment that was required for kindergarten in the fall.
He went to the same dentist I use, he sees both kids and parents. I had found him friendly enough since I had seen him a few times before.
Andrew was actually in good spirits about the dentist. He kept smiling at me as we headed to the appointment.
“What is he going to do?” he asked.
“Usually he brings out small light to look closely at my teeth. He will have a long metal instrument to see how strong they are and take off the plaque and tartar, yucky stuff that builds up on your teeth.”
I think I captured it right.
Waiting for the Dentist
We pulled into the parking lot and headed inside.
I went to the front desk and was given forms to fill out.
The dentist’s office had some coloring books and crayons and I pulled them out for him to color while I filled out my information.
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, cool,” he said.
I was happy they had some of his favorite cartoon characters among the coloring pads.
After turning in the paperwork, we only had a short wait as they called us back.
Starting the Checkup
The dental assistant began the examination. She brought out a light along with a mouth mirror to gain a good look at his teeth.
She provided Andrew sunglasses while she was shining a light on his teeth.
She then used a hooked instrument to scrape plaque and tartar off his teeth.
After examining his teeth she explained what would happen next.
“I am going to use an electric toothbrush to clean your teeth along with a little vacuum that will suck up your spit,” she explained to him.
“What flavor do you want for your toothpaste?”
“Cherry,” he said.
She cleaned his teeth and Andrew was very good following all her instructions.
“The dentist will see you shortly. Your teeth look good though,” she said.
That was awesome to hear.
What the Dentist Said
He told us that his teeth look fine and he was doing an excellent job of keeping them clean.
We were happy to hear this from the dentist.
I asked, “When should we start to see his adult teeth?
“Those will start to come in around 6 or 7. With his current teeth, he should keep flossing and brushing to keep them healthy.”
One Last Thing
After the positive report on his teeth, we headed back to the front. Before we left the dental assistant guided us to a drawer.
“You were a really good patient, pick out a toy.”
She opened a drawer and he searched among the toys and decided on a plastic green airplane.
She then brought a toothbrush with Avengers on it and toothpaste with a small thing of floss.
My Thoughts
I was happy that he didn’t put up a fight and was relaxed and followed all the directions that the nurse and dentist had given him.
We awarded him by going out to what he calls the “Pig Place.” There is a large pig on the sign. It is a local barbecue place that we all like.
The next thing to look forward to his adult teeth coming in, one of us I guess will have to play the tooth fairy!
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