Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Pray For Me...

I'm taking a 22 month old to his first dental appointment.

Shall we do an over/under?

Perhaps multiple choice would be better:

Will Joseph:

A) Refuse to get in the chair?
B) Keep his jaw clenched and mouth tightly shut?
C) Injure someone (himself, his Mom, Dr. Andy) in a fit of rage?
D) Do all of the above?
E) Prove that he truly is the Golden Child and surprise us all with an almost perfect check-up?

3 comments:

Amy M. said...

I feel inadequate.... Are we supposed to take two year-olds to the dentist? I haven't even taken my three year-old yet! Advice! Advice!

Meg (MU) said...

I think he will get in the chair because he thinks it is cool- so not A; I would never wish injury on anyone -so not C; obviously D is out; and even though he is a golden child nobody likes the dentist - so out with E. I am putting all my money on B. Good Luck.

Julie Weaver said...

Drew loves the dentist. Took him for the first time in June 07. I have an appt for Charlotte this June...so far no cavities x 4 children! (fourth to be determined)...(knock on wood).

...and I think we're supposed to start taking them at 18 mos.

When I took Abbie for the first time, we had the most horrible experience. It was a pediatric dentist, kid friendly office. She was my first, so I was inexperienced to say the least. She was terrified and wouldn't cooperate with taking xrays. She was 3 and screamed for 30 minutes and the dentist and hygenist were a husband and wife team. As punishment for her behavior, they sent me out of the examination area and back to the waiting room. I had tears streaming down my face and was lectured by the office staff that I wasn't setting a good example for my toddler, who was in the back being held down and firmly spoken to by strangers...I also had an infant in tow. Naive and stupid, I did what they said and made her first dentist experience horrible and scary. As a result, until she was 6, she was terrified to go to the dentist, even though we changed practices. It took many books about going to the dentist and lots of pretending to get her comfortable. It also took a move to California and a totally new environment with Nintendos chained to the dental chair to get her to trust dentists in general.

My advice to Amy...if something doesn't seem right, run, and damn the consequences...it was a tough lesson to learn, and I'll never forgive myself.