A Trip to the Dentist

Thursday, April 30 saw the whole lot of us headed to the community about 25 minutes from our town to see the dentist. The older three girls were the only ones with appointments but we like to do things as a family. Plus, two adults are better than one! lol.

We were told to arrive a little early to fill out a little form for each patient. Having helped a friend in the past by transporting her and her children to this same clinic I was aware of some of the waiting room "services" that were provided. I had the girls bring a couple of things to keep them and their brother occupied but I knew that there were a few toys and a video machine available in a tiny tiny little room opening into the waiting room. Each appointment was about 40 minutes long. We were there for just under 2 hours.

CJ went first. I expected her to be the most nervous, but the dental assistant connected with CJ very well. She spoke CJ's language, if you will. They started with pictures of her teeth, first covering her with a "big heavy blanket" because "we only want pictures of your teeth". She did lots of looking and poking. And introduced CJ to her tools and had special names for some of them. "Mr. Slurpie" was the one that sucked up the spit! lol. She polished CJ's teeth while CJ got to watch the tv in the ceiling; and gave so many options for the "vitamins" for her teeth. When I was growing up we got banana or bubble gum flavors was all. Now they gets to choose from like 10 different kinds. The doctor "Dr. Jazz" came to look at the x-rays and examine her teeth and such. He was impressed with the amount of space in CJ's mouth for her grown up teeth, but was a little concerned with the wear on her teeth. She apparently grinds her teeth. CJ left the chair with a tooth brush, a timer, a chart, floss and a treat for being a good helper. She was very excited with her bag of goodies. CJ has 4 cavities (also called sugar bug homes) in between her teeth so they are touching 8 teeth.

K went next. Having seen the things CJ came out with, she couldn't wait for her turn. M, too, started to get impatient. K didn't want me to go with her but I went anyway because it was her mouth and complaints that caused me to make the appointments in the first place. She has some very bad cavities. So much to the point that she has to have a couple of extractions. She went through the same steps as CJ did and came out with the same instructions and goodies. There were parts of K's mouth that the dental assistant couldn't poke around because it was sore. I feel badly but we are working at changing habits.

M went last. By this time, she was done waiting and so was Little W. Baby R was falling asleep in my arms and before M was done, Baby R was sleeping. M is only 3.5 years old. The dentist and assistant didn't do a lot on her - no pictures, only a little polishing. This visit was mostly an introduction to the process of visiting the dentist. She was a little scared of "Mr. Slurpie" and wasn't too sure of the polisher either. M got a bag of goodies too - a tooth brush and floss and a treat for being a good helper. The concern with her is that she could be grinding as well and that her teeth are quite close together. I was told to floss her teeth regularly.

So, as per the dentist's direction to each girl, we brush our teeth every time we put on our jammies and every time we take them off. We brush our teeth twice a day for the whole time it takes the sand in the timer to all run to the bottom.

We left the dentist's office with two more appointments for K and CJ and booked everyone again for May 2010. I need to call and book W for then too, as he'll be over 3 by then. The next appointments for K and CJ are in June. The girls keep asking how long until they go back. I think it will be a long 6 weeks! I'm very thankful for a smooth visit; followed by a lunch out, that wasn't in the budget. And even more thankful for the cheque in the mail to cover that lunch!

Striving to learn and live God's purposes,