Daughter's Day at the Dentist

Yesterday, my daughter had her first fillings put in...boo hoo!  The dentist assured me (the mom who diligently brushes her daughter's teeth twice a day and has her use rinse and floss every night) that some children/people are more prone to cavities. 

I didn't have the heart to tell her she had cavities because I have always warned her of the "cavity creeps" giving her cavities.  I know she doesn't like the cavity creeps, so I didn't feel like she needed to know they took down 2 of her teeth and now she had a date with the dentist's drill.  (Yeah, I used the drill as a scare tactic, too!)

Instead, we made it an exciting trip to the dentist's office where he was going to make her teeth "nice and healthy."  She was excited about that.  And luckily, the fantastic team at South OC Pediatric Dentistry made her feel so comfortable and praised her every step of the way. 

When we first got there, she got to choose what color/smell nose piece she was going to use.  The dentist uses laughing gas(nitrous oxide) rather than injecting Novocaine to alleviate any pain.  She chose purple/grape. (She was so excited since purple is her second favorite color!)

They hooked her up to the laughing gas and she just sat and watched a movie while her dentist showed her all the tools he was going to use and actually showed on her hand how they work.  He showed her how the drill would "tickle" her teeth.  (I wish that is how the drill at my dentist's office worked!)

She laid back in the chair for about 20 minutes while they worked on her teeth.  They continued praising her every step of the way.  She even gave me a thumbs up during the treatment. 

Once the drilling was over, they gave her oxygen to speed up the recovery process from the laughing gas.  Without Novocaine, she was able to eat immediately after the appointment. 

And she did just that...eating apple slices when we got to the car. Once again, my kids never cease to amaze me!