Duncan at the dentist

He did fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. Didn't flinch. Didn't fuss. Didn't cry or fidget or *anything.*

We got there and arranged him on the table, on top of a board covered with padded velcro straps that they use to hold children still if necessary (they say that it is less traumatic to be swaddled that way than to have a number of adults in the room trying to restrain thrashing limbs - I tend to agree). The dental assistant put the mask on his nose and I pointed out the Nemo stickers all over the walls and the Nemo stuffed toy hanging from the ceiling. And a Nemo on the blanket they'd put over him at my request (I thought the room was cold - I wanted a blanket for ME, but I figured that the more comfy Duncan was the less he'd fuss, so I asked for a blanket for him and we put a nice heavy one over him. :) Then the dentist came in and they put sunglasses on him and turned on the big overhead light and asked if he'd open up so the dentist could tickle his teeth. I laughed and told them that was exactly what I told Duncan I was doing when I started using the electric toothbrush on him.

So they drilled out the cavities on both front teeth, right where they come together and near the gum line. No anesthetic at all, just nitrous oxide to relax him. Then they put something on his teeth (fluoride?) for a few seconds and rinsed it off, then they put the filling material in place and used the light to cure it, put resin over it to hold it in place, buffed the resin to be smooth, and he was done. It took all of about 15 minutes. And Duncan was marvelous!

Funny story, though - on the way to the library that morning Sayer started asking about bugs and holes. I said 'huh?' and she clarified that she wanted to know more about the bugs in our mouths that make holes in our teeth. Oh. Germ bugs that make cavities? Yep. So I explained to her that the teeny tiny germ bugs liked places that were warm and a little bit wet. And that our mouths were warm and moist. And they liked places where they could find sugar, and there was sugar in our food, and sometimes some of it stuck to our teeth when we ate (and that's why we brush). And that the germs themselves don't hurt our teeth, but their waste products from eating the gunk stuck to our teeth ... hmmm, waste products ... she won't know what those are ... their tinkle and poop are acidic, and they sort of melt little bits of the enamel on our teeth. So the bugs don't hurt teeth, their tinkle and poop hurt teeth. When their tinkle and poop get on our teeth and melt the enamel it makes a little bit of a scratch and then more food sticks there and then the germ bugs live there and tinkle and poop more and then the scratch gets bigger and becomes a hole and it collects more gunk and more germs and blah blah blah. I'm telling all this to Sayer because she asked for more info. But of course, since we're in the van going somewhere, Duncan is with us and hears it all, too. So at the library all morning until his dentist appt he's telling everyone he runs in to that he has bugs tinkling and pooping in his mouth making holes in his teeth.

I related this to the dentist because Duncan tried to tell him about the bugs in his mouth and he said I was the only parent he'd come across who had explained that to their kids and who had gotten it right. So yay me :)

Anyway. Duncan did great. And both kids know how cavities form. And both kids want to keep the bugs out of their mouths now :)