First Trip to the Dentist

A few weeks shy of his second birthday, Ronan endured his first trip to the dentist. First visits are recommended for toddlers between 1 and 2, though I think most people begin around 2.5 or 3. Because Ronan has had several falls resulting in at least two chipped front teeth, this visit was a bit overdue. BUT... he did great!! We visited Dr. Katz's very kid-friendly office in SF and within seconds the receptionist had Ronan smiling and playing with a suction-cup toothbrush. There were lots and lots of Dr. Seuss books and Ranger Rick magazines (do you remember those?) and the walls were painted with huge pictures of giraffes and gorillas. The doctor came out and gave Ronan a big bear hug and pretty much wrestled on the floor with him. I'd say Ronan was as comfortable as could be imagined, given that he was in a dentist's office!

Once inside, the other dentists and hygienists all said hi to him and got him interested in using an enormous toothbrush to clean a stuffed gorilla's chompers. They didn't pressure him to sit in the chair (and he didn't), but he did sit BEHIND the chair. Why? That's where all the chair controls are! He spent 20 minutes moving the chair up and down, forward and back, over and over again. When it came time to actually look at his teeth, he put up a minor fight while they gently pried open his mouth, counted his teeth (16! just the last four molars are left), examined the chips, checked his bite, and showed me how to floss him... all in about 30 seconds. Not bad. The dentist said he has some plaque forming on his back molars (!). Even though we brush him twice a day, I guess we're missing the sides of his molars. And who knew flossing was appropriate for a two-year-old?

When it was time to leave, Ronan actually refused! He wandered around looking at the other kids in the dentist's chairs and started to play with the vacuum tool that sucks water out of your mouth. Definitely not the traumatic experience we were expecting! (And toothbrushing since then has become markedly easier - whew!)