Dentist Visit

Alice runs into preschool this morning, throws her backpack into her cubby, spots her teacher and shrieks in excitement, "Mrs. Strom! I went to the dentist!"

"You went to the dentist? What did they do?"

(I was dying to hear what Alice would say, so I hid around the corner)

"They sucked my spit!"

"Oh, wow!"

"And they gave me a new toothbrush!" She runs to her backpack and pulls out a little flosser. "And a blue flosser!"

She cares more about the new brush and flosser than the mini beach ball, the sticker, and neat little bubble timer she also received during this visit. I think she officially collects toothbrushes now.

We prepped her for some time about what to expect on her first visit to the dentist. We talked about the squishy chair that moves, the flashlight in your face, opening your mouth so they can count your teeth...blah blah blah. Nothing surprised her except the spit sucker. I forgot about that. She tolerated "Mr. Thirsty" once or twice and then politely refused any more. She sat there nervously with her mouth wide open so the hygenist could count teeth, scrape plaque, polish, AND paint on a fluoride treatment (Confession: even I don't sit through a polishing. Can't stand it. I've refused it ever since I learned it was not actually necessary for clean teeth). This girl amazed me. I sat at her feet on the chair, she held my hands/arms, and Robert played on the floor. Both of these kids blew me away.

They're not normal, y'know. I just keep testing them to see what they'll do and they keep doing stuff like this: polite obedience, patient waiting, and comfortable interaction with every person they meet. How will I ever learn how to set boundaries if they keep being so self-limiting? Count my blessings, right? Or wait/prepare in secret terror for the day they suddenly decide to test all the limits at once.

*sigh*

The dentist concluded that Alice has nice, strong teeth and no cavities. Woo hoo! She also commented that it's nice to see so many gaps between baby teeth (i.e. Poulson pebble teeth) because that means there's less chance of crowding later on. My family may not have problems with crowding, but many end up with braces anyway.

She also confirmed my suspicion that fruit snacks were of the devil. Not in so many words, but I got the hint.