Kate goes to the Dentist

Kate had her first visit to the Dentist today! Our pediatrician said to go when they were 2.5 years old, so I decided to bite the bullet and take her in for a check up. It has been on my "t0-do" list all summer and I finally made the appointment. I am all about good dental hygiene, since my college roommate Brittany is a dentist!
(If you are in the Denver area, check her out HERE, she has had her own practice for the past 3 years!)

I didn't prepare or tell Kate we were going to the dentist. I have learned with Kate that it is better to NOT prepare her. She can get too stressed or excited if you prepare her too much (ex: going potty training or even going to a playdate, she just gets too excited & won't stop talking about)

And, Kate totally has "white coat" syndrome (scared of doctors) like my younger sister. It all started last summer with her 18 month appt and echo cardiogram, remember? Since then, she has not been a fan of the doctors office.

So, this morning, I took the girls to school with me to organize some stuff in my classroom and then we went to the Dentist (without any warning). When we walked into the Dental Office, I told Kate we were at the Dentist! She said, "That will be fun". That's the spirit, Kate!

Here she is playing in the waiting area. This is the same dentist my sisters and I grew up going to.
When they called us back, Kate was great, we went to the exam area & she was excited to sit on the chair. (Although, she looks like a scared deer in this picture. LOL!)

The dental assistant was SO nice & was asking Kate if they could look at her teeth. Kate nodded "yes". I knew Kate was lying! haha!

Then, the dentist comes over and explains to Kate what they are going to do. This is when Kate starts to get nervous....

And, that concludes our pictures from INSIDE the dentist's office because from this point on, Kate wanted me to sit on the chair and she wanted to sit in my lap. Therefore, no pictures of her and the dentist. So sad.

To make a short story even shorter, Kate wouldn't open her mouth for the Dentist. Eventually she did, and then when he put the mirror in there, she started crying (which worked out well, since her mouth was REALLY wide open). He was able to do his exam between her locking her jaw & her crying. She actually did better than I thought she would do!

The dental staff was awesome and really good with kids. I was impressed with the tactics & creative ideas they used to get Kate to cooperate even though she was a little upset. My dentist was just like I remembered him (although he was 15 years older...) He was great with Kate & has a fun/quirky personality. I wish I got a picture of him, he was wearing a bright purple dental coat. Hysterical. He is the first person who pulled an April Fools Joke on me. I was probably 9 or 10 years old & my sisters and I had a dental appt on April 1st. After my exam he told me that I had 3 cavities. (I had never had a cavity before) Then he told me "April Fools."

Anyways, back to Kate's appointment! She doesn't have any cavities! YAY! And, he said that he can tell we (and Kate) do a good job brushing her teeth. This is true, Kate LOVES brushing her teeth.
Kate was happy the minute the dentist took the tools away & she got to pick out her prizes. Here she is showing off her sticker:

Kate got to pick out some prizes from the toy chest, so she picked 2 braclets and a Backyardigans sticker. Exciting stuff.

For little kids, they break up their very first appointment into 2 different appointments. This one was the consult & dental exam, next week Kate goes for the tooth brushing clinic and flouride treatment. They only schedule kids 5 and under in the morning, so Kevin will be taking her to that, since school is starting and I work in the mornings. Have fun, Kevin!