Dentist Visit

Cal had his first dentist visit this week! Look how excited he is to be in the fancy chair!

I know we should have taken him to the dentist before now, but for various reasons (including Cal all but welding his mouth shut when we've attempted a dental visit before) his first checkup was this month. 

He's old enough to understand when I tell him that dentist visits don't hurt. We've also been working on trust since he was little -- never lying or hiding things from him, even if I know he won't like the consequences -- so he believed me when I explained all about the dentist this time.

 Cal was so good. I was very proud of how well behaved he was for the dentist. It helped that they had a TV with cartoons playing in front of his chair!

 Here he is getting his x-rays. He was so interested to see the images when they showed up on the computer screen.

I was so please with him, I took him to the toy store and got him a new train track piece for his set. Now he keeps asking when we'll go to the dentist again. At least he's not scared, right? I'm so proud of my big boy.

Badge of Honor

At the park this evening, Cal fell and bashed his face against the slide. His nose was bleeding (scary sight for a mom), so we took him over to the car to get my first aid kit. I cleaned him up with a package of wipes (his two front teeth were bleeding, too! -- a dentist appointment is in the works), and thankfully the blood stopped.

That didn't stop him from demanding a band-aid...

As soon as it was in place, he was back to playing, happy as can be! 

Dentist Woes

I love going to the dentist. Even when I was a little kid, I loved going to the dentist. I'm kind of proud of this fact.

Well, today I have a dentist appointment, and I'm nervous for some reason. I think it's because I haven't gone to the dentist for almost 2 years because we didn't have dental insurance, and I'm afraid of what they're going to say.

I'm not sure what I'm expecting. In my mind, the hygienist approached, inspects my teeth, and then clucks her tongue disapprovingly and says, "You must be one of those people who doesn't like going to the dentist."

Heartbroken! Humiliated!

But then, why do I need the dentist to validate my worth? I think it's because in my mind, the status of my teeth is peculiarly tied to my socioeconomic identity -- is that unusual?

Regardless, wish me luck...I'm going to go pick out my outfit now...