The "Tooth Doctor"

We took James to the dentist for the first time this morning, and I was pleasantly surprised by how well he did. There are so many different opinions about when the first visit should take place, but I knew I wanted to wait until I felt like he would understand a little of what was going on before we went and I'm so glad that we did. And at the same time, because he had pretty severe reflux for the first 18 months of his life, I knew it was important to make sure that everything was okay and that the acid hadn't damaged his teeth too badly.

We had really been talking it up for about a week now about going to see the doctor for his teeth, and we told him that after the "tooth doctor" brushed his teeth he would get a special sticker or prize (we were banking on that!) But every time I asked him if he wanted to go to the tooth doctor, he said "I want to go to Dr. (the name of his pediatrician) more." Ha! So, I wasn't sure exactly what to expect when we got there. Knowing his personality and being a little unsure of new things, I expected him to get upset but he sat on my lap and let the hygienist clean his teeth with her special blueberry toothpaste without any tears. He really enjoyed the water that she squirted in his mouth and kept asking for "more water!" He even showed her how he could brush them all by himself too (after all, he is two years old!) He only got upset when the dentist came in and started putting gloves on, but luckily he just did a quick look before sending us on our way. The dentist said everything was great, and so that was a big relief for this Mama! And after it was all over he got to pick out a special prize - a big yellow bouncy ball (he told us it was like Pluto's! There is a Mickey episode called "Pluto's Bouncy Ball" - this boy knows his Mickey!) All in all, the "Tooth Doctor" was a success. :)