April 29, 2010

Four Thumbs Up!

This week, we had our semi-annual trip to the pediatric dentist for check-ups!

I was a bit apprehensive about the trip. last time we went, they called both girls at the SAME time. Little A was 14 months old (i.e. adult supervision required) and Sassy decided it would be a great time to freak out at the dentist for the first time. Fun times, let me tell you.

Well, this time, I came prepared. I brought reinforcements (i.e. Graycop). Sure as the sky is blue, Sassy and Little A were called at (nearly) the same time... and brought into separate areas. I love our pediatric dentist. Really, I do. But, honestly... who does that?!?

This time, Sassy acted like an old pro (as she should... she's been going twice a year since she was one). She sat perfectly still and content watching Horton Hears A Who as the hygienist counted, polished, flossed, and painted her teeth (with fluoride). Side note: hallefreakinglujah for kid friendly dental offices and emergency rooms that see the value in individual TV's with bendy arms that can be positioned in multiple ways to distract toddlers. Genius!







Meanwhile, Little A was raising hell in the other room. Surprise, surprise. Did I mention that she totally woke up on the wrong side of the crib? 'Cause, oh yeah... she did...

She hates having her teeth brushed. Part of it is a power struggle. She wants to do EVERYTHING by herself. Well, letting my 20-month old brush her own teeth is not something I am willing to give in to. Actually, letting my 4-minus-TWO-day-old brush her own teeth is not something I am willing to give in to, either. I am a fanatic of sorts when it comes to dental hygiene (unless you are comparing me to Lynzee... girl is CrAzY... remind me to tell you the Listerine story later...) and it's really important to me to make sure that the kids are taking the best care of their teeth. So, we brush for them. We plan to for a while. They both get to take turns, allowing them to assert their independence, but it's just one of those things around here.

I digress.

The other part has to do with the fact that Little A's teeth are rather hard to brush. First of all, she has a thickened superior labial frenum (the skin flap above your top front teeth that connects to your lip) just like Sassy. Actually, Sassy's has gotten better over time, and Little A's isn't quite as severe as Sassy's was, but it still makes brushing those front teeth a challenge. We have to find the balance between brushing vigorously enough to get the teeth clean and brushing gently enough as to not irritate the frenum and make it bleed. Ouch.

Little A also has really thick lips and cheeks, and her muscles are very strong (hello... she works them out all.day.long eating). So, as soon as we insert a toothbrush into her mouth, she purses her lips and clamps down, allowing no real brushing to take place.

Anyway, she wasn't overly cooperative while getting her teeth brushed, counted, or examined. Even Cars blaring from the TV didn't help.



Despite the troubles, her teeth checked out fine. Dr. Brown reassured me that brushing her teeth should be a 2-person job if our family situation allowed, which made me feel a bit better. (I felt a little ridiculous having to bring in reinforcements to brush her teeth). He also gave me a great choke hold technique to try out, and told me not to be afraid to get my fingers in there and pull her cheek away for better access!

Sassy's teeth looked great, as well, so the official verdict: 4 thumbs up!!!!

Now, who would have thought I could be so winded about a simple trip to the dentist?


By the way, there is still time to enter Sassy's giveaway! We will take entries up until Saturday, May 1st at 6:09 PM (Sassy's EXACT birth date)... Good luck!

2 sweet tweets:

Whitney said...

I always loved going to the dentist when I was little, and I didn't even have a multi-position television to distract me either! When did they get those?? Because now I feel a little jipped! Ha! Glad it's four thumbs{and two mouths?} up! AND that you don't have to deal with that for another 6 months!

Anonymous said...

Heather is the only person who would take their camera to the dentist.