Miss V's First Dental Visit

Miss V, Mommy, and Daddy have been brushing V's teeth for a while, but we finally decided the time had come for her to visit the dentist. I found a pediatric dentist who takes our insurance, and he and his staff turned out to be very friendly and helpful. V wore a smiley face lead vest for the x-ray, and the dental assistant explained the process as she proceeded. Miss V is a thumb-sucker, but she knew not to put her hand near her mouth. The hygienist told her to put her hands on her tummy or by her side, but every once in a while she'd get nervous and raise her arms as if to do jazz hands. I held her hand a couple times to comfort. She got to watch Tom & Jerry on the flat screen mounted on the ceiling. The whole time she listened to the staff, and opened her mouth nice and wide or whispered, "Aahh." In the end she chose a bouncy ball as her prize.

The dentist voiced that Miss V has a beautiful smile and set of teeth. They're a little tight, so we get to start flossing in the front now, but they are in great condition. The dentist recommended we not worry about the thumb-sucking, and just use some positive reinforcement when we see her not sucking her thumb for a fair length of time. 

While they cleaned and examined her teeth, I couldn't help but have one of those moments of realization. She is not a baby anymore. She lay on the chair, answering questions and doing as the dentist requested. She is growing up, and is farther along in some ways than I realized. Oh boy, I'm going to have older kids some day, then teenagers, and someday not that far in the future my little babies will be adult children. Whoa.

My First Cavity

My tooth genetics have made it so I've lasted over a quarter of a century without a cavity. My streak has officially ended. Admittedly, I haven't been great about flossing, so I know it's my fault. It was quite an experience. I had two cavities between two of upper teeth. First they put a tube with a nose cover onto my face with a flow of happy gas. Breathing deeply, I was grateful to already be flat on the chair, because a vague sense of floating and a slow room spin began. After a few minutes my mind adjusted. One of the lovely dental assistants put a numbing agent on a long cotton-ended stick to place in the right spot. The dentist followed up with a couple of shots directly into the nerves above the teeth. He explained that for bottom teeth to be numb it's just one nerve in the back, but on top each tooth has its own. I found out that the happy/laughing gas isn't supposed to reduce pain, just relax the recipient. They had a plastic wedge on the opposite side of my mouth holding it open so I could rest. He drilled into each of the numbed teeth. I garbled out questions throughout the experience, and amazingly the dentist understood each one. I asked what they would use as a filling, so he showed me a whitish gooey blob. 

"No' 'e'al?"

"Nope. We haven't used metal for four years now."

They just had to keep the area dry and set it with heat (I think) for a few seconds, and then it was good to go. They even smoothed it out to be congruous with my teeth, and made sure I had a space so I could start flossing again. When I widened my mouth to show Zak before going home, he could tell it was a slightly different color from my teeth, but it wasn't obvious, especially in its location. It's pretty amazing what has changed at a dental appointment even in the last few years. This time they painted on my fluoride.

The bottom-right part of my face stayed numb for about five hours. I had fun looking in the mirror and covering half of my face at a time. My right nostril wouldn't even flare. This was much more pleasant than my wisdom teeth removal recovery. I hope I've smartened up enough to not require this again, though.

Mom's good example started from the beginning.

Growing up Mom always gave us half of a fluoride tablet after we brushed our teeth. Each night she'd encourage us in our brushing by singing a song to the tune of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."

"Brush, brush, brush your teeth,

Get 'em nice and clean,

So when you have to go to the dentist

You won't have any cavities."

I hope to be a better example in the future, especially now that I know my teeth aren't invincible. Now is the time that I need to step up and to be the one from whom my daughter learns.