Shut up, I know all about the new recommendations that want you to take your kid to the dentist when they turn one or when their first two teeth get all the way out or whatever. I didn’t want to, so there. And I was soooo right.
I made an appointment with a pediatric dentist recommended by Elizabeth’s pediatrician. I printed out the forms ahead of time and had them all filled out. (Thank goodness, because I ended up needing my hands the whole time we were in there.) We had an early appointment and I let Elizabeth take the iPad in the car to play with. She carried it into the dentist and chattered happily on the way in.
We walked into the front door of the office. The waiting room was full of lots of kids and adults. Elizabeth looked around and burst into tears. “I no yike dis place! I want to go home! I no yike it here! We need to leave this place! I don’t want them to hurt me! I no yike them to hurt me!”
Me: stunned silence. How did she KNOW? This was her first ever experience with a dentist. I think she sensed it in the air.
We signed in and sat down in chairs for a few minutes. We got up at one point to get my ID back from the receptionist and someone was standing next to our chairs when we got back. (Mind you, we only walked about three steps.) Elizabeth shouted “no, dis is MY chair” at her.
We got called back extremely quickly. Apparently, someone breaking out into bright red blotches from crying so hard in the waiting room is not good for business. (Again- how did she know?!?)
We went into the X-ray room. I was carrying Elizabeth at this point. The woman (nurse? hygienist? technician?) asked Elizabeth to stand on the scale so that she could see how big she was. Elizabeth shrieked “I NOT BIG” and clung to me even more tightly. I tried to shake her off, but she was like some kind of baby orangutan at that point and I couldn’t have gotten her off with a pitchfork. The nurse said “I think we are going to skip x-rays today.” I laughed.
We went down to the end of the hall, where there were those big dentist chairs. (Which is what Elizabeth saw when we first came in and could have been the only thing to tip her off.) The dentist was waiting for us (again, I recommend the screaming child for speeding up the appointment- they wanted us OUT of there) and he was really nice. Elizabeth was wearing her Cinderella dress and tiara and he tried to talk to her about it. She continued to sob into my neck and occasionally shout something like “it is NOT good”. He showed her what he was going to do (more sobbing into my neck) and eventually I pried her off me and pushed her into the chair. He stuck a little mirror into her mouth and kind of looked at her teeth. (I held her down.) He said that everything looked great and we discussed toothpaste (he’d like us to switch to fluoride toothpaste). He brushed some vitamins from a little brush on to her teeth and we were done. The dentist offered her the little mirror that he had used to look in her mouth to keep and she pushed it back at him. He laughed and said “well, you aren’t going to have anything to do with this, are you?” I did really appreciate how understanding they were of her fear- the nurse at her last well visit was not.
I told her that if she stopped crying, we could leave this place now. She stopped mid-sob and didn’t start again. We made another appointment (for September) and I did a little propaganda work (“see how those kids are being so brave in their chairs!”). While I was making the new appointment, Elizabeth kept hiccuping out “I’m so sad!” “I no yike dis place!” “we need to LEAVE dis place!”. My favorite one is when she shrieked “we need to go home and get some oatmeal to make me feel better!”
The dentist told me that for the first appointment, they try to make it as quick and easy as possible so that the kid leaves feeling like “well, that wasn’t so bad!” and then when they come back, they are more cooperative. I laughed. Elizabeth has spent the rest of the day with the martyr air of someone who has survived undeserved torture. She will remember and she will NOT approve when we go back. (She went a year between doctor’s visits (not sick often, my girl) and she remembered exactly what they did to her at the first one and she did not approve at the second one.)
This dentist is certified for to do sedation. I’m just saying.
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
This was totally the kind of experience I was expecting when I took my kids to the dentist the first time. (Which, by the way, was not even a year ago, so I’m with you on the waiting.) I even scheduled the appointment for a day my mom had off so she could come with me (I didn’t think I could handle both the kids.) And then they loved it. I was shocked. Even the hygienist was really surprised. She said normally at a first visit they just brush teeth with a toothbrush, but Kalena happily let her use the actual cleaning equipment.
Now, all that said, they did have TV screens showing cartoons directly above each chair, so the kids could see them while they were laying in the chair. Maybe you just need to find a dentist with those?
Annika has been to the dentist 3 times so far (I decided to try the 1st visit by 1 year old thing). The first time she was clueless, the 2nd time she freaked out and cried the whole time and the last time we went she was fine. She opened her mouth, let the dentist look inside and then got a little tiny basketball for being good. It’s rough the first few times and I’m curious to see how she is in May because she’s super clingy lately and she’s starting to be shy around strangers. But yes, sedation can be good :)
Haha. Margaret went to our dentist two weeks ago and LOVED it. The dentist read her “Dora goes to the Dentist” and let her pick out a princess toothbrush. I’m sure she’d go back anytime. But she likes the pediatrician, too, which may have helped. Our pediatrician gives cookies at the end of visits. When we first started going there I was appalled – why would a pediatrician give out cookies?? But now I can kind of see why. The doctor’s office is practically her favorite place in the world. (And the cookies are really small)
Aww, poor thing! I feel like she does about the dentist! I HATE it! My son on the other hand enjoys it. Not sure why?? They do make balloons out of gloves and he goes crazy for those.
Awww not fun for you. Been there done that w/ the screaming kid in an office (mainly dr.). Our dentist actually recommended 3 years – unless there was a huge problem before hand. They actually aren’t pediatric dentist just my normal dentist. I made daddy go 1st, then her and then me. She sat on daddy’s lap and wasn’t sure at 1st but she adjusted well. She thought it was so fun when they painted her teeth with flouride. She wanted more. Good luck next time.
Oh man. This makes me nervous. I have to call the dentist to make an appointment for my almost three year old (nope, she’s never been) and I am dreading it. Mostly because I hate the dentist and really don’t want her to hate it too. I am trying to build up a little excitement, but my girl is sensitive to things like this, so I fear it will be very similar to your visit. At least it’s over, right? That’s what I’ll be saying as soon as I walk out of the door!
You waited to long. If you brought her when she was 2 she would not have acted like this. Lesson learned.
You must be new here.
Oh ho ho hee. The thought of Elizabeth taking it better at 2…. (or E for that matter). Wait.. That wasn’t a joke was it?
for what it’s worth, I disagree and think it’s just fine that are just now taking her for the first time, Jen! Kids are going to react to their surroundings in unexpected ways, and she might have had the same reaction even if she had been before. I’m sure her reaction today wasn’t unusal for their pediatric dental patients! And incidentally, our pediatrician and dentist both say that if you brush your child’s teeth regularly, and there aren’t any oddities with the development of their teeth, it’s totally OK to wait until they are 3 years old.
LOOK! We have a new expert on Dibits…
My dentist said at least 2.5, preferably 3 too, so you can tell anyone who fusses about that. I do NOT relish the idea of E and the dentist. He and Elizabeth are so alike in that way. Sigh. Speaking of which, hub has been working nights again and e does not approve. We had a bedtime battle royale tonight. NO fun.
And I had to chuckle at the idea that cartoons would make it better. Strong convictions our children have. Bribery does not matter. (but I think you and I are the same way, so they get it honestly)
I took cartoons even! ;) She couldn’t have possibly cared less.
I feel your pain. This is why my 2.5 year old has not yet been to the dentist. I know I need to make the appointment sometime soonish. I just really do not want to.
I’m with you on waiting. Teddy just turned 3, and hasn’t been yet. Our dentist is on board with this. He’ll be exactly like Elizabeth, I fear. He’s such a cautious little dude, and it’s going to be interesting.
Elizabeth cracks me up, though. :)
Taking the boy in didn’t even cross my mind until I had to re-enroll our dental coverage for this year. When I sought the advice from some of my mommy friends the response what “What, you haven’t had him on your dental coverage since he was born?” – Psht…No. He didn’t even get his first tooth until he was 11 months.
The experience you just described is pretty similar to what I expect our first visit will be.
You should pat yourself on the back. You survived. Barely. ;-)
I can’t say that I blame her. I hate the dentist. But, poor Dibits.
Omg. I am so very happy that I haven’t done the dentist yet either. My dentist told me that if I felt he had all his thereto in and wasn’t worried about anything, we could wait until he was 4. You have confirmed my decision to wait. I bet by the time he is four, I can bribe him somehow, lol.
I think I will take Anna whenever her permanent teeth come in. I mean, what’s the point before that, really?
Well, if there are cavities or problems with baby teeth that go unchecked it can cause problems with their permanent teeth. I would not wait until their permanent teeth come in. My pediatrician and dentist both recommended to bring the kids after they turned 3 and mine both handled it fine.
Oh, sorry, I was just kidding. Three is my actual goal.
Even my pediatrician rolls his eyes at taking kids to the dentist at age one. We took the baby on her first birthday ONLY because I already had an appointment for my son. My son FREAKS at the dentist. We still don’t have a full set of x-rays after three visits. He would have freaked at age one, too. Our dentist is great about it and says that each time he goes, hopefully they’ll be able to do a little bit more of the cleaning and get more x-rays. And my TV loving kid could not CARE LESS about the movies being shown on the ceiling. Dentist hating kids solidarity!
I took my daughter when she turned 3. I explained everything they were going to do everyday for about a week before. She did awesome. Let them floss and scrape. I was shocked. She asks for shots when her twin brother and sister get them. Its not normal.
Hopefully Elizabeth will be less scared next time
I am still almost peeing myself over ” I tried to shake her off, but she was like some kind of baby orangutan at that point and I couldn’t have gotten her off with a pitchfork.” (of course, I have your visual demonstration of said statement to go with it!) One of your best blog lines to date!
We took LL at 2, as recommended by our pediatrician. He sat in my lap the whole time, let them look in his mouth a little, but wouldn’t let them clean anything. Then he got a toy. We declared success. At 2.5 he sat in my lap again, and let them do even less, and got another toy. At 3, he immediately asked about the toy, and when told that he would get one when he was done, he jumped into the chair by himself, went along with everything they asked of him, then happily went to pick out a cheap rubber snake or whatever it is that had him so very very excited. I was shocked. But darn if he doesn’t still love that silly “dentist snake.”
With Kermit, I asked our dentist at one of LL’s appointments when he would ideally want to see a kid for the first time. He said normally at age 1, but that’s silly, because lots of kids don’t have any teeth all the way in by then, so we should wait until he has teeth. When I told him that Kermit was 8 months old, had 8 teeth, and was starting to pop some molars, he told me to bring him right away. (!) I left feeling guilty that I hadn’t brought LL until he was two years old, even though he got his teeth way early, too. When we brought Kermit in a month later, the SAME DENTIST asked why we were there so young, barely did an exam, then told us to bring Kermit back when he was 3. So… I think pediatric dentists all just make things up as they go along.
Ha! Poor, poor Elizabeth. My own dentist offers tvs and parafin hand wax treatments, so, you know…maybe she’d like it as a spa day, instead? ;)
Brigid has already been to the dentist twice in her two short years, but we had some extenuating circumstances there. She doesn’t seem too upset by things, until the tools start making noises. Then she wants out of that chair, and she wants out NOW.
She has, however, voiced her toothpaste opinion several times, with a very firm ‘NO NEW TOOTHPASTE!’ every time we try to pull out the real (flouride fortified) stuff…
Don’t feel bad. We haven’t attempted the dentist either and Peanut will be four later this year. I feel awful just writing that but it wasn’t until recently that she began to get over her fear of the doctor. She would shake and cling to me whenever we went, screaming the entire time. I’m going to attempt the dentist soon. Maybe.
{ 1 trackback }