First Dentist Trip

This week I took both of the girls to the dentist.  I procrastinated making this appointment for Kaitlyn.  For a long time, I didn't think she would let anyone look in her mouth.  And the longer I waited, the harder it got to pick up the phone.  But I finally made the appointment and decided to take Hailey along.  I thought maybe if Hailey did it, Kaitlyn would be fine with it too.

The appointment was at 1:30, which right away started a little odd.  It was naptime.  Neither of the girls were sleeping.  Hailey looked like she had only been up for a little bit but I'm not sure what Kaitlyn's deal was.  When we arrived, it was like we walked into a toy store!  There were 2 waiting areas that had a ton of toys, balloons, a popcorn machine (?!?!), so the girls made themselves at home right away.  When we went back with the hygenist, I told them that I just wanted to take it slow with Kaitlyn. To let her set the pace.  It was definitely a slow pace.  The hygenist started by showing her some tools (mirror, water sprayer, suction) but Kaitlyn was really more interested in all of the toys they had back in that area.  It was really quite overwhelming to even me!  She had no interest in sitting in the chair or in letting them look in her mouth. 

Hailey on the other hand, did pretty well.  They did some cleaning before she got upset.  But they pushed through and got a complete exam in.  Not bad.  I was surprised to see how many teeth she had in there.  A few more have come in!

The dentist asked about Kaitlyn and how well we were able to brush her teeth.  I told them that we didn't brush her teeth - that we couldn't even brush her hair.  At that point, I guess the dentist pounced on me.  She emphasized that brushing is not negotiable.  That bacteria in your mouth can be harmful and needs to be cleaned.  At that point the tears began, but she kept going.  Perhaps she could tell that we pick our battles and that brushing is not a battle we choose to fight.  Her point was, we defintely need to fight that battle.

So we scheduled a follow up private appointment with the dentist so she could do an exam and hopefully a cleaning.  It will be in a room by herself with a tv above the chair.  I ordered videos of Caillou and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.  Ugh.  On the bright side, she let me do some teeth brushing yesterday.  Not a ton, but it definitely felt like a minor victory.  

Here are some pictures from the day