Now that Avery is four years old, we thought it was about time to schedule his first dentist appointment. Before the visit, we checked out and read several library books on visiting a dentist and talked about what to expect hoping it would help him prepare for the new experience.
Upon arriving at the office for the appointment, Avery was a little bit nervous, but I could also tell that he didn't fully grasp what was going on quite yet. However, the hygienist was great at helping him feel comfortable.
Ways in which the hygienist helped Avery included patiently explaining everything she was doing each step of the check-up. She seemed to understand kids and was patient with Avery's humor and playfulness. She also paused to explain to us the difference between "soft plaque" and "hard plaque", and taught Avery how a cavity is like a "hole" in a sick tooth that she and the dentist were there to help him fix.
Avery got to sit in the big dentist chair (although he was a bit afraid when it moved up and down so that it could be positioned at a height the hygienist could comfortably reach him), wear fun red sunglasses with the light lamp shining down on his mouth, pick out a flavor of toothpaste (blue raspberry - we had to remind him not to lick it off his teeth before they were polished since he thought it tasted good) and even pick out a fun red toothbrush and sticker when it was all finished. He did question why he had to wear a bib since he associated that with being "a baby", but understood why it was necessary for water not to get on his shirt. The hygienist noticed that he liked it when she sprayed water in his mouth to rinse off the toothpaste and let him get in a couple of extra squirts for fun.
Avery had quite a bit of tarter behind his front bottom teeth, but was very patient for a four year old while it was scraped off. The hygienist and Avery counted his top and bottom teeth together and we learned he had twenty teeth overall. She also taught us a good way to floss so that Avery was more willing to let us help him floss his teeth in the future.
Finally, after receiving a good dental cleaning, our dentist arrived in the room. He too was great with Avery and Avery patiently let him check each tooth. Unfortunately, he found two cavities in the upper back rows. We are glad that he found them before they got any worse and caused Avery pain. Needless to say, we have a couple more upcoming visits to get those cavities fixed. Hopefully, we can continue to strive for good dental habits and help Avery to learn to choose to take good care of his teeth for the rest of his life.
