I have TMJ. This basically means I can open my mouth approximately two fingers wide. Going to the dentist is agony for me. My jaw is never willing to cooperate, I have to take frequent breaks during the appointment, and I leave with a headache. When I had my 4 wisdom teeth removed, the anaesthetic wore off and I actually woke up during the procedure. When I was a kid, my dentist was in a NYC high rise. He was an old man whose hand shook when he worked on your teeth. He always tried to make jokes. Bad jokes that you had to laugh at while his shaky hand was wielding a sharp object in your mouth. Dentists and I are not a match made in heaven.

With all my trepidation in mind, I decided it was time to schedule Thane for his first appointment. In passing, I told Oma and she stressed that going to a pediatric dentist was the way to go. It would be geared to him, give him less stress, and me less stress. Plus, there was the chance he would not wind up being the anti-dentite that I am.

I looked into it. Pediatric dentists? Did they have these when we were kids? Were we going to the Chuck-e-cheese of dentistry? Or worse…the Wal-Mart?

Battle scars and all we settled on Snodgrass King Pediatric Dentistry in Cool Springs.

I talked it up to Thane for 2 days. We are going to the dentist. That is a doctor for your teeth. He’ll make sure you have big strong teeth. Who else has big strong teeth? (Thane: Lion…ROAR!)

We walked in and it was Willy Wonka’s Playland. Fish tanks. Arcade Games. 25 cent Horse rides (minus the 25 cents).

Thane loved it and looked around in awe.

When we were called back (which was probably faster than Thane would have wanted) he got to pick out his own toothbrush! A Green Diego! Next we went into the exam room, a bright room with a long flat dentist chair/bed. Flat because it was geared for them to lie down, face aimed at the ceiling. And what do you suppose was on that ceiling??? A TV with cartoons! Thane did not need to be asked twice to lie down. He sat there, in his TV Zombie trance, while we spoke with the hygienist. She then brushed his teeth. No fuss…zombie boy in full effect. Then, she pulled out a fancy dinosaur flosser. This peaked his interest only long enough to ask if we could take it home.

She flossed his teeth. Not a single wimper let alone a teardrop. When she was done, she told him he could pick two prizes on the way out.

The dentist checked him out briefly and found him in clean shape. He seems to have a bit of an overbite, but that is pretty common.

Thane got to pick out two (ok, maybe he took three) prizes–2 cars and a triceratops and then ride on the horse a few times.

Now, where nighttime brushing was a nightmare, Thane is eager to let me brush him (seriously!). Tonight he even let me floss with non-dinosaur floss. In the mornings, he is in charge and can brush them all on his own.

Tips: We lie him down on the bed to brush his teeth. He is calm, I can see in. It works.

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 23rd, 2010 at 11:44 pm and is filed under Hansen News, Posts with Photos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.