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Stocking: The magic of having a good dentist

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Dentist 3

Some things in life I do not enjoy doing. If I could go my entire life without dusting another shelf, cleaning the shower, or camping, I would be a happy girl. Of course, these are not things I tell my children (until now) (and except for camping—my kids know I don’t like camping). They don’t need to know that the reason they have to dust every Saturday is because I dislike it so much. But these are some of the necessities of life: things that must be done but are not at all enjoyable in the doing.

Add to this list going to the dentist. It is not at the top of my list. My children don’t know (until now) that I only go to the dentist once a year because I dislike it so much (plus, I floss).

It’s not my dentist. I have a great dentist and he has a great staff and they read my column (Hello, Eagle Rock Dental Care!). I just don’t like going to the dentist. However, it is one of those necessities of my life: a thing that must be done but is not enjoyable in the doing.

Dentist 1

That is why I appreciate our dentist so much. My three kids got to go to the dentist last week. McKay was a bit scared because he knew he had to have two baby teeth pulled. He was afraid it would hurt. I assured him that they would numb his mouth so he wouldn’t feel the teeth being pulled, to which he responded, “With a shot? Is that how they numb my mouth? I don’t want a shot!” And I had nothing to respond to his concern. I was woefully underprepared to help my son with his fear, and I didn’t want him to grow up feeling the same way about dentists that I do.

McKay insisted on wearing his sunglasses into the dentist’s office. When they called him back, I told him to give me his glasses. He said, “No, the light is bright.” Duh. Why hadn’t I thought of that? Seriously, why hadn’t I thought of that? I’m 42 years old and the thought of sunglasses in the chair because the light is bright never crossed my mind. The hygienist let him keep his glasses, choose his flavor of paste, and hold the suction thingy. She was giving him some control over the situation.

After his cleaning, the dentist took a look at McKay’s teeth and said, “You have very nice teeth.” (That’s an exact quote; I wrote it down. Remember the struggles of teeth brushing from my earlier column? I was so glad that the repeat brushing was working!) Then the hygienist reviewed proper brushing with McKay (it was a great review for this mom) and they moved McKay to a different chair for the extractions.

Dentist 2

Extractions. That’s a big word. I wish I knew dental lingo better than I do (because I’m pretty sure they don’t all call it a suction thingy). Perhaps if I spent more time in there I would pick up a thing or two. For example, how to calm a scared nine year old who is about to have two baby teeth extracted. First, when McKay said he was cold, the dental assistant retrieved a blanket to cover him. Next, they let McKay hold his mom’s hand when he got nervous. Then Dr. Hammond calmly told McKay that he wasn’t getting shots. These were “infiltration straws.” Brilliant! While maneuvering that infiltration straw, he told McKay that the teeth drink through their toes, called roots, so the straws have to infiltrate where the roots are. A few minutes later, two baby teeth were successfully extracted and given to McKay to leave for the Tooth Fairy.

My son left the dentist office numb clear to his nose, but happy. Hopefully he will grow up dreading things like dusting, but not going to the dentist. I am lucky to have a good dental office which takes good care of my kids. Our visit last week taught me how to better prepare my kids for the dental necessities of life, however unpleasant some of them may be.

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