Time For the Dentist

Took the girls to the dentist for the first time today. Elizabeth was good when they took x-rays of her teeth. But when the hygienist leaned the seat back to start the cleaning, she panicked. She covered her mouth with her hands and cried. It took about 5 minutes to get her to open her mouth and I held her arms down as she got her teeth cleaned and flossed. Then Catherine did and excellent job holding still while the hygienist brushed flouride onto her teeth, no crying at all. So of course the lesson learned from this is to take the kids to the dentist early before they know enough to be scared.

Elizabeth did sit and open wide for the dentist to check her teeth though. He looked at the x-rays and asked if her front teeth were loose yet. I hadn't thought to check. He said, " If they're not yet, they will be soon!" I guess he can tell from the x-ray that the adult teeth are getting close. And sure enough, when I checked them, they had a bit of a wiggle. So sometime this summer, the tooth fairy will be making her first visit to our house. Aaahh! My baby is growing up! Loose tooth, then school, and just around the corner is college and then cold, cold death for me. (Okay maybe I'm over-reacting.)

Also, both girls got A's on their dental report cards. I think I deserve something special for prying their mouths open to brush their teeth every night amid the "No toothpaste please, mom!" and the "Waaaa!" and the whining about brushing too hard. And guess what? Now we're adding flossing!

Guess the tooth fairy better go stock up on "golden dollars"!