1st Trip to the Dentist

This morning at 8:15 a.m. the boys both had their first visit to see the dentist. Benjamin was a little hesitant about going but had an awesome first experience at a local pediatric dentist office.

Being that it was a pediatric dentist they obviously deal with kids daily. The waiting room was stocked with enough toys to keep them entertained during our short wait as well as having the kids' movie "Ratatouille" playing on a t.v.

Right off the bat they took Benjamin in for x-rays. He's never had any sort of x-rays before so this was something new for him. He sat like a champ though and they told him they were going to send his pictures of his teeth to Superman. He thought that was pretty cool.

Then he was off to spend a little time with the dental hygienist. She was awesome. She explained everything to him in terms he'd understand and was really patient with him. He kicked back and watched t.v. while she cleaned his teeth and gave him a fluoride treatment (ick!). She asked him how many teeth did he think he had. He said "20" and he was right! (Apparently, they went over this in Preschool when a dentist came to visit. The kid remembers everything).

Then the dentist took over and counted his teeth. He too was great with Benjamin! He told Benjamin he was just learning to count so that he was going to need Benjamin's help so if he made any mistakes, Benjamin should let him know. It didn't seem like Benjamin was really paying attention but every time the doctor skipped a number Benjamin piped up! It was cute.

Before Benjamin got out of the chair, he got his picture taken with the dentist since it was his first visit. And they printed a copy for us before we left! (which are the pictures I'm posting).

Samuel was next. He was a lot more reluctant. He had just watched his brother sit in the dentist's chair for a bit and was not sure about taking his turn. So, the dentist had me sit in the seat and he sat on my lap (what's left of my lap these days anyway). Samuel wasn't as willing to open up his mouth like a lion but he did great and didn't cry one bit. The dentist was happy. Apparently, at that age they often have to literally hold the child down to get a good look. Luckily, not in our case! Phew. The dentist did inform me that Samuel's teeth are very crowded and that is usually an indication that it will be more so when the adult teeth eventually come in. (Another words, start saving for the orthodontist now!) He also does not have his 2 year molars yet which should arrive by the time he's 3 years old. It seems that all his teeth have really come in a little later than average. The dentist just said this usually means they'll just fall out later.

I was a lil nervous that we'd be returning to the dentist soon since this was our first visit (especially since Benjamin is already four and a half) but they both had good checkups with NO CAVITIES! Yippee!!!

Benjamin thought it was a great experience. They left with new toothbrushes, kid's toothpaste, balloons, and a couple of things from their toy machine which the hygienist gave them each a token for. (All I remember as a kid was that my dentist's office had a really cool fish tank. That was my highlight. Apparently, times are changin!)

They did so great that we stopped at a nearby playground. It was a beautiful morning and I thought we better take advantage of the coolness of the morning hours and enjoy some play time. We stayed at the playground for about an hour and the kids had a blast.

Benjamin has been praying for sometime now on his own for God to give him strength so that he can do the monkey bars. And today, at this playground he made it through 5 rungs on the monkey bars before he fell down (there were only 2 rungs left). I was so proud of him and he was all smiles. And then he informed me that God helped him do it. It's moments like that which just make my heart melt as a Mom.