Becca went to the Dentist on Wednesday! This visit was more than the silly 'happy' visit she & Mary-Gail had last year: we actually got her teeth x-rayed, scrubbed, and flossed. (Mary-Gail's appointment is next Wednesday). Becca was so happy to be at the dentist. When one of the dental assistants came to get a patient, Becca ran up to her and tugged on her scrub top and said, "Dentist, dentist, I have a lost tooth." Becca had everyone in the waiting room smiling with her cuteness.
In preparation to our dental appointment, we've been reading The Little Critter's book, Just Going to the Dentist, by Mercer Mayer and Dora the Explorer's, Show me Your Smile. Becca & Mary-Gail loves The Little Critter books. The dentist room "looks like a spaceship" and there is a "super critter x-ray machine." both the books do a great job explaining who the dentist is, why we have to see one, and what happens if there are sugar bugs that eat our teeth.
When Becca's dental assistant, Miss Annie, came to get us, Becca grabbed hold of her hand and walked with her down to the room. Becca got on the chair just like The Little Critter and Dora did, and Miss Annie gave her a ride up and down. I told Miss Annie that I wanted to get a good picture of Becca's teeth to make sure there is a permanent tooth in Becca's bottom jaw. {See, Becca was born with a tooth! (Crazy since she was born at 27-weeks - 13 weeks early!) The NICU Ear, Nose, and Throat doc came by and sure enough, he confirmed that Becca had a bottom tooth. He flicked it out with his gloved finger, and our NICU nurse saved it for us}.
Miss Annie took us down to the panoramic x-ray machine. Becca was such a good little patient! She was excited to have everyone's attention (even the patients who were already in the dental chair getting their teeth cleaned, craned their necks to see who belonged to the excited, little angel voice). Becca sat in the chair, Miss Annie adjusted the chin rest, and Becca bit on the plastic stick. When I told her to "freeze!" she did so, and put her hands up in the "freeze" pose. Miss Annie laughed and laughed!
The Panoramic X-ray machine
"Super critter X-ray"
Miss Annie helps adjust the chin rest and bite piece
Becca's a little nervous...okay, she's a lot nervous, but she held still just the same
Miss Annie took us back to the room, and gave Becca 3 choices for the toothpaste she was going to use to clean Becca's teeth: cherry, mint, or bubblegum. Becca didn't even let Miss Annie finish: "Oooh, I l o v e cherry!" Miss Annie clipped on Becca's plastic bib, gave her another ride in the dental chair, and Becca settled right in. Miss Annie explained the tools: one shot water (and Becca got a shot of water in her mouth); one sucked up the water (Becca let Miss Annie put it in her mouth and sucked up the remaining water/saliva); one spinned in a super, fast circle and it tickled Becca's hand as Miss Annie pressed it against Becca's hand; the last tool counted Becca's teeth: 9 on the bottom and 10 on the top!
Becca LOVES cherry toothpaste!
All Done!
Becca didn't have any cavities! That was such so super-duper good news. Plus, when the dentist came in he confirmed that Becca's x-rays showed that there was a permanent tooth in the missing spot on Becca's bottom gum. And I was relieved at that news too! Miss Annie kept saying she was so shocked that Becca's teeth were cleaned, and when she got the floss out, Becca loudly announced, "Hey, that's floss. We have floss out our home. I love floss!" Miss Annie couldn't believe that Becca knew what floss was; she said most kids don't know about floss, let alone a 4-year old. Becca got some fluoride painted on her teeth, and then we were done! I told the dentist and Miss Annie that we'd see them in 6 months, and Becca repeated (in a much louder voice), "See you in 6-months Mr. Dentist and Miss Annie!"
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment