Lily's First Visit to the Dentist

Pediatrician's have different opinions on when a child should go to the dentist for the first time.  I thought that the dentist might have a better opinion since it is their specialty, so I called about a year or more ago to try to get Lily in.  Our dentist's office wouldn't even see her for the first time until she was 3 1/2 years old.  We took her to the same dentist that Jason and I go to since he is a family dentist and sees people of all ages.  She will be 3 1/2 in just six days, so we went today!  I had actually made her appointment about 6 months ago and we have been getting her prepared ever since.  She has been watching the Barney dentist episode, and we have been talking about going for a long time.  She was really excited for the day to finally come.

Lily is really good about brushing her teeth.  She, on a good day, brushes her teeth (with our help) twice a day.  On a bad day she brushes once a day, and I'm not gonna lie....on a really bad day...we forget.  The really bad days don't happen very often though!  I wasn't surprised at all with how well she did.  She hopped right up in the chair and was all chatty with the hygienist.  She laid back and opened her mouth right up.  No fussing or nothing!  They gave her a pair of sunglasses to wear to block out the bright exam light.  She thought she was pretty cool.  The hygienist counted her teeth and showed her all of the tools that are used in the dentist's office.  She first squirted water into Lily's hand and showed her how the little suction tool sucks it right up, and then she did the same in her mouth.  She cleaned her teeth and flossed them and Lily did great through it all.  The dentist then came in and talked to Lily a little bit about brushing and how important it was to keep a clean mouth.  Lily just stared at him. 

She was thrilled to get a toy and a new toothbrush and toothpaste.  Nobody leaves the dentist's office empty handed!  I was bummed to hear that braces are FOR SURE in her future.  The dentist asked me if Lily still sucked her thumb, and I told him that she never has.  Her upper jaw is apparently aligned way ahead of her bottom jaw.  He said that until her permanent molars come in they don't do anything, but after that she would need go to an Orthodontist for x-rays.  He said something about her jaw again and then about the positioning of her teeth (I was chasing Avery around at this point) and how she would have to wear some sort of "appliance" before the age of 12.  When I hear "appliance" all I can think of is my little girl in a head gear...ick.  I don't really know what he meant, but he did say that braces would come after they got her jaw realigned.  Whatever...Jason and I both wore braces...they are just so EXPENSIVE!  Other than that he said that her teeth were healthy and clean and he would see her again in 6 months!