First Dentist Visit

I have been dreading the first visit to the dentist ever since our not so fun visit to the eye doctor. If you missed that gem, you can read it here. 

We have been reading book about going to the dentist for months. Logan reads them almost every night and really seemed to like the idea of going to the dentist. I of course made it known that he would get a prize if he was a good boy at his check up. 

I took the recommendation of Logan's doctor and mom mother in law, and made his appointment with this specific dentist.   It is actually the same dentist that Chris went to when he was little. 

We headed to the dentist and I was still talking up all the cool things he would see and the prize he would get to pick at yeh end, just like the books we read. The office was very kid friendly and Logan made himself right at home in the waiting room. 

Logan was not to excited when he heard them call his name , and dropped to the floor. I carried him back and we talked to the hygienist first. She went over a little bit of his history and told me what they hoped to do. She said the first visit usually consist of taking his picture, teeth counting, cleaning, x-rays if he's okay with it and a fluoride treatment. I started laughing as I was wrangling Logan just to sit in my lap while we talked. I told her I wasn't sure how much he'd be willing to do, but we would give it our best. She said they would be very flexible and just do whatever he was comfortable with. 

We got back to the area, and he was a little overwhelmed. The hygienist was trying to show him the tools, and he had spotted the prizes. We decided to skip the tool introduction and went for the picture with the big toothbrush. Here's what we got.

Next, Logan found the alligators with big teeth and decided to put them in the chair and brush their teeth. The hygienist let him do that for a minute or two, and then said it was his turn for the chair. He again, laid on the floor and decided he wanted nothing to do with the chair or the cleaning. The dentist noticed our lack of enthusiasm, and hurried right over. She had me sit in a regular chair and sit Logan on my lap.  I then sat knee to knee with her and laid him back into her lap.  I had to hold his hands down while the dentist held his head.  She basically had to pry his mouth open while he screamed. She was able to look at his teeth and check his bite.  She said everything looked good, and said we would stop here for today. She then quickly painted on a fluoride treatment and described it as very sticky and grainy. Logan probably would have described it as poisonous. He started spitting and rubbing his mouth all over me. 

We thanked the dentist and headed over to pick out a prize and a sticker. Logan also got a bag full of things to take home like toothpaste, a penguin toothbrush, flossers, and his keepsake picture for his baby book.

The dentist recommended that we come back in 4 months for a happy visit. This is just a visit for Logan to come see everything again and get a little more comfortable. Then, he'll have his next cleaning in July. 

I try to keep reminding myself that at some point in his life these appointments will get easier, right??