Hmmm, what can I say about Cole's first dentist appointment? A few words that come to mind...awful, traumatizing, embarrassing (I could go on but you get the idea.)
Well, our laid back, go with the flow kid proved that he has his limits - and the dentist is one of them. We practiced a lot about saying "ah" and counting his teeth but that all went out the window this morning.
We watched Sam go first and he set the perfect example of how to be a champ during his appointment. Sam was relaxed and got a full cleaning with no problem. Well, when it was Cole's turn I knew we were in trouble when he wouldn't sit in the chair. Then he shook his head 'no' any time the hygienist asked him to open his mouth. He refused to look or play with any of the tools they showed him which they usually do to ease kids in to the routine. However, a handheld mirror and little dental mirror caught his eye and he did want to hold those for the rest of the appointment. The remainder of our time consisted of me placing Cole on my lap, leaning him back and allowing the dentist to take a peek between screams. After taking a quick look the dentist decided to forgo the cleaning and just brushed on his fluoride.
I was exhausted and relieved to be done. Cole had been a little difficult but they assured me this was very common for a first appointment. However, little did I know things were going to get worse. As we went to leave I quickly realized that the mirrors Cole had in his hands were not going to be given back without a fight. I tried everything and used all my tricks to get him to give up those mirrors and nothing could convince him (not even picking out a toy from the toy box). Eventually those mirrors had to be pried from his little fingers and with that, he went wild.
The screams were insane! To make things worse, we see the pediatric dentist at the hospital so there was no quick escape to the car. I carried my screaming, kicking and hysteric child down the hall and had multiple people coming out of the offices to determine if the child was OK or if his parent was torturing him. I eventually put him down as he was screaming 'down' hoping some space would calm him. Well, the little monkey ran at full speed back down the hall to the dentist's office yelling "I want mirrors!" I assumed I would catch him at the end of the hall but in his frantic state he managed to open the door of the office and reentered screaming for those stupid mirrors. Again, he was hauled out and down the hall while even more people poked their heads out to see what was happening. We then had to make it down an elevator (and waited a few rounds for an empty one to not subject others to his screams) through the hospital lobby, up another elevator in the parking garage and to our car.
After getting Cole into his car and after driving away Cole announced to me that he was 'happy now'. Ha! I usually find his happy / sad comments quite endearing but at that moment I didn't find it too cute :) In fact, this afternoon I still feel stressed! My 'happy now' boy appears to have moved on, however if you ask him about the dentist he will say "I sad, I want mirrors!" Maybe I will need to bring his own little handheld mirror from home next time. Oh next time - I shudder to think about taking him there again in another six months!
Well, our laid back, go with the flow kid proved that he has his limits - and the dentist is one of them. We practiced a lot about saying "ah" and counting his teeth but that all went out the window this morning.
We watched Sam go first and he set the perfect example of how to be a champ during his appointment. Sam was relaxed and got a full cleaning with no problem. Well, when it was Cole's turn I knew we were in trouble when he wouldn't sit in the chair. Then he shook his head 'no' any time the hygienist asked him to open his mouth. He refused to look or play with any of the tools they showed him which they usually do to ease kids in to the routine. However, a handheld mirror and little dental mirror caught his eye and he did want to hold those for the rest of the appointment. The remainder of our time consisted of me placing Cole on my lap, leaning him back and allowing the dentist to take a peek between screams. After taking a quick look the dentist decided to forgo the cleaning and just brushed on his fluoride.
I was exhausted and relieved to be done. Cole had been a little difficult but they assured me this was very common for a first appointment. However, little did I know things were going to get worse. As we went to leave I quickly realized that the mirrors Cole had in his hands were not going to be given back without a fight. I tried everything and used all my tricks to get him to give up those mirrors and nothing could convince him (not even picking out a toy from the toy box). Eventually those mirrors had to be pried from his little fingers and with that, he went wild.
The screams were insane! To make things worse, we see the pediatric dentist at the hospital so there was no quick escape to the car. I carried my screaming, kicking and hysteric child down the hall and had multiple people coming out of the offices to determine if the child was OK or if his parent was torturing him. I eventually put him down as he was screaming 'down' hoping some space would calm him. Well, the little monkey ran at full speed back down the hall to the dentist's office yelling "I want mirrors!" I assumed I would catch him at the end of the hall but in his frantic state he managed to open the door of the office and reentered screaming for those stupid mirrors. Again, he was hauled out and down the hall while even more people poked their heads out to see what was happening. We then had to make it down an elevator (and waited a few rounds for an empty one to not subject others to his screams) through the hospital lobby, up another elevator in the parking garage and to our car.
After getting Cole into his car and after driving away Cole announced to me that he was 'happy now'. Ha! I usually find his happy / sad comments quite endearing but at that moment I didn't find it too cute :) In fact, this afternoon I still feel stressed! My 'happy now' boy appears to have moved on, however if you ask him about the dentist he will say "I sad, I want mirrors!" Maybe I will need to bring his own little handheld mirror from home next time. Oh next time - I shudder to think about taking him there again in another six months!
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