Dentist Appointment

I know, really catchy title, right? Well, Josh had a dentist appointment yesterday. We've been going every 6 months since he was 2, but we've never had an experience like the one we had yesterday. Now that Josh is able to understand more and communicate more, I had been talking about the dentist and what they do at the dentist's office for a couple of day prior to his appointment. And of course, I did a little bribing - you'll get a toy after the dentist looks at your teeth type of thing (probably not the best thing to say, but considering that he has screamed at his last 3 appointments, I just wanted to get through this one).

So we're in the waiting room, and the dental hygienist calls Josh's name. Josh proudly steps forward and follows the hygienist. They wanted to do x-rays, which I seriously doubted were going to happen (keep in mind - screaming, kicking, crying at the last THREE appointments). But Josh climbed right up in the chair, let the guy put the apron over him, and did all the xrays needed. I thought to myself - wow, this is going really well, but wait until we get to the cleaning part. So, we get to the chair where Josh needs to be and again, climbs right in - sits down and lays back. This is the first time that he has ever done that - we've had a hard enough time with the dentist even counting his teeth.

The hygienist was awesome!!! He explained everything to Josh, let him touch all of the instruments, and walked him step by step through everything he was doing or was about to do. I swear, they need more male nurses, hygienists, preschool teachers, etc. Men understand men better. This guy knew just how to explain everything to Josh and what to say. Josh is a boy's boy. He loves his trucks, trains, cars, etc - so getting to do things hands on is really important to him. And I didn't even have to tell the hygienist this - he just did it. Josh sat through the cleaning, flossing, fluoride treatment, did the thing that sucks out all of the spit, and let the dentist look inside his mouth. And all of this without any troubles, no crying, and no complaints. It was great! The only bad part was that Josh has 2 cavities, boo! Bad mommy and daddy. We need to do a better job of brushing his teeth after he does it. So we have 2 more appointments next month. They said that they're going to try to do a little bit each time, so hence the two appointments.

So thank you Tyler, the friendly hygienist. We appreciate you. And I'm so proud of Josh and he knows he did a good job too. Extra kisses, hugs, and high-fives were given yesterday (not that we don't do that everyday, just extra). He is growing up right before my eyes, and it's days like yesterday that make me happy and sad all at the same time. Now he keeps asking if he can go back to the dentist. Hopefully he'll still feel the same way in a month.