He’ll always amaze me—even when it comes to teeth

By Amy M.

I recently took Alex on his first “successful” trip to the dentist, where he got a cleaning, x-rays and a lesson in how to brush his teeth. When the hygienist called his name, he went willingly without even a look back at his Mommy, who had to hold back tears.

Tears of relief more than any other emotion. You see, this was Alex’s third trip to the dentist. After two failed attempts at my own dentist’s office, we resorted to the pediatric dentist—where the hygienists sweep the children away to some dental oasis and leave the parents stranded in the waiting room.

I first tried to take Alex to the dentist when he was 3 ½ (he's 4 now). He wouldn’t even sit in the “fun” reclining chair by himself, let alone allow the hygienist to count his teeth. For once in his life, he was silent—talking meant someone might see his teeth, and he didn’t want to admit he had any. The next time, a few months later, he sat in the chair and let the hygienist count his teeth, but clamped his little jaw shut as soon as she came near him with a toothbrush.

So it was time for drastic action. I was going to have to put him in the hands of those used to dealing with hysterical young dental patients and let them work their magic.

Although I called in June to schedule an appointment, I couldn’t get one until September. So I didn’t mention it to Alex until a week beforehand. Not surprisingly, he whined and protested and insisted he already knew how to brush his teeth. In reality, what he knows how to do is suck all the toothpaste off his brush. Does he think I don’t notice he barely moves the brush around?

I explained to him how important it is to see the dentist and that it’s not scary, emphasizing that we have to go to make sure our teeth our healthy. He continued to protest no matter what I said, so I bluntly told him he didn’t have a choice—everyone needs to go to the dentist, including him. Surprisingly he let it drop, although he mentioned a couple days later that he still didn’t want to go.

The day of the appointment arrived. I couldn’t tell if he had forgotten, or just accepted the fact that he had to go (the kid has a memory like a steel trap, so I doubted that he forgot—but maybe he suddenly had “selective” memory). He didn’t complain when I told him had to brush his teeth really well so he would be ready for the dentist, and didn’t protest one bit when we got in the car.

Once we were on the road, my sweet little boy explained to ME what it’s like to go to the dentist. He said he knew there wouldn’t be any big, scary machines because those would scare the kids. He knew he was just going so they could count his teeth and clean them with a special brush. He knew there was nothing to be afraid of.

All I could do was agree with him. The tears that threatened to fall then were tears of pride, and a few tears of sadness, because he was acting—and sounding—so grown-up. After his appointment, he acted like it was no big deal. I just hope he takes the dentist’s advice to heart—and uses his toothbrush to actually brush!

Amy M. lives in Pennsylvania with her son and her husband. She works full time as a writer/editor for a large university.

Comments

[Phil]

Great post. I recently took my kids, 5 and 8, to their first dentist visits. Both kids were awesome. I was so proud of them. So proud, in fact, that I finally gave in and made my own dental appointment for the first time in over four years (I had a very bad experience back then).

I had to show my kids that going to the dentist was for everyone. So I went today and got the relatively good news that I have only some minor periodontal disease and have to go back for a teeth scraping.

I hope my kids are proud of me!

[Jenn]

You are obviously doing a great job of explaining things.

Milestones like this are exciting and moving. Great story!