Dentist

I admit that I have been lax in the dental area where my child is concerned. I have religiously taken him to the doctor, got all his vaccinations, yada yada, but he's heading for three years old and up until this morning had never seen a dentist, despite the fact that it's recommended by the powers that be that he see a dentist at one year old. Or as soon as he has teeth, but I really did think that five months is just too young. 

I've been putting it off, I know, because I have such terrible memories of the dentist as a child. I had a pretty good dentist from the time I was about eight or so, but even so I remember dreading to go to the dentist. Dreading it. Crying. Wailing. Knashing of teeth. The whole gamut. And I remember the terror of having various procedures done, and just the thought of putting my child through that ... well.

Let's not even go to the logical step of -- you know, if you take your child to have his teeth cleaned every six months, there will be no need to have any procedures, because his teeth will be perfect. 

Yeah, I am not so terribly logical.

Anyway. My own dentist doesn't do children, so I also had no idea where to go or who to see. So of course I did nothing until the guilt got too bad, and I looked up someone on the intarweb. (because that's how I want to care for my child's precious teeth -- some random dude on the net!) And I found a pediatric dentist who had a very flashy website. He's a specialist in children's dental work, and does a lot of the extra stuff -- cavities, surgery, etc. And I figured -- what the hell. If I don't want The Boy to dread going to the dentist like I did, let's make his first experience as fun as possible. And this place has TV! And toys! and a fish tank with clown fish! (well, actually, that might be a little disturbing given Nemo and all, but hey.) And they are Great! With! Kids! 

Now when I called to make and appointment way back in September they gave me an appointment for ... December 17. Crazy. And lo that was this morning, and so we hied ourselves to public transit in the snow and went off to the dentist. We had been practicing, you know. We had been talking about the dentist and practicing opening our mouths WIIIIIDE so that the dentist could Look! At! Our! Teeth! And how Great! that would BE! And how nice the dentist is! Wheee!

No, I'm not projecting my fears on to my child AT ALL. 

And we went, and he went in, and he sat on the chair that moved (which they showed him how to move, which was a Very Smart Move on their part) and he talked to the dentist and he lay down on the moving chair, and he let the dentist not only look in his mouth, but poke a little here and there, and he didn't have a single moment of being scared or unsure. There was a fun toy at the end, and I don't think for a second that he thought going to the dentist was a bad thing.

Me? Me, I panicked in the middle of the appointment and had to leave the room. Seriously. You'd never know that I no longer have a fear of dentists since I had braces at 12. I was completely panicked. It didn't help that when I was filling out paperwork just before we went in (and The Boy was far away) there was a small girl who'd had a tooth pulled sobbing in her mother's arms. She was about 9, and he face was blotchy and red, and there were tears running down her face, and Oh my heart was in my mouth because one day many years ago I had BEEN that girl, and I had felt that scared and that traumatized and that's why I hated the dentist so much because it was the only place I ever went where they hurt me on purpose. And it was awful.

I'm trying really hard as a parent to be a good one, to be calm and confident and raise my child to cope with life and all its pitfalls. And I'm doing a pretty good job. 

But I think that next time? Daddy gets to do the dentist. Alone.