Do you know what's rather backwards about that -- aside from the Very Obvious? It's been YEARS since I've had a cavity or anything to worry about at the dentist. I never have to have extra work done and it's usually relatively painless, but I just hate sitting there with someone's hands in my mouth for 45 minutes, being startled by the occasional errant spray of water, wincing if the hygienist slips and nicks my gums, waiting for that shiny Captain Hook tool to strike gold on a cavity.
But our boys ... they LIKE to go to the dentist. And although it seems like they just went two months ago, this week their six-month appointment rolled around again. Since they don't mind going -- in fact, they look FORWARD to it -- I don't mind taking them. They have a very single-minded focus: WHAT TOY CAN I GET IF I BEHAVE DURING MY CHECKUP?
This was the first time they'd put them in separate exam rooms, so I was running back and forth between them for 15 minutes trying to get an equal number of pictures of them. (Yes, I was That Mom. And really all for you, because I'm not even going to scrapbook these.)
Nick chose his toothbrush quickly and got settled in with his cool shades.
Because, let's face it. The sooner you get started, the sooner you get to pick a so-cheap-Mommy-wants-to-throw-it-away-before-you-even-get-to-the-car toy out of the prize drawer.
Nick was a total champ for the hygienist and got a completely healthy report.
Then Dr. Mike came in and checked him out. He agreed ... all clear in there.
And yes, he is perhaps more attractive than your average dentist. But by far his best quality is that he doesn't abide tardiness. They have a four-minute rule. If you are late by four minutes, you must reschedule! There are no exceptions beyond emergencies, and I am here to tell you that in the four years we've been going, we have always been called back before or exactly at our appointment time. We LOVE Dr. Mike!
He hadn't even rolled his stool back before Nicholas was off of his chair and had the prize drawer open.
Ohhhh, the selection of Truly Crappy Toys was just amazing. It was a sight to behold. As usual, it took three minutes to decide which piece of junk he wanted to take home. (I have come to the conclusion that I could very well fill up a drawer JUST LIKE THIS in our home, stocked solely by Happy Meal and dentist's office toys that were SO TOTALLY AWESOME two months ago but are strictly déclassé now.)
And the winner was the parachuting cow! I believe he has chosen some sort of parachuting mammal the last three visits. Mind you, we don't know where any of them ARE anymore, but they were very popular at one time. For roughly two days.
Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice across the hall, Nathaniel was in the middle of his cleaning. While I was taking pictures of Nick with his hygienist, I missed Nathaniel's first set of bite wings -- I KNOW YOU'RE DEVASTATED -- but I managed to get in a few shots.
The face he's sporting below is not similar to the face I make just prior to MY teeth cleanings.
Again, it was totally uneventful. No cavities, good brushing habits, a reminder to
He was cool as a cucumber in sunglasses.
The bonus of not being done before Nick was done is that -- LOOK! -- he got a visit from Nicholas. Nick put his hands on Nathaniel's face no fewer than three times in 10 seconds. Nicholas really has absolutely no regard for personal space.
When Dr. Mike came in, he was all smiles and gave us another great report. Again with the flossing, but then he let Nathaniel bound out of his chair to choose a toy.
Nathaniel's eye was immediately caught by this little cell phone/watery ring toss game. It is actually the single best thing we've ever brought home from the dentist.
ONLY ONE DOWNSIDE: Nicholas had, of course, already chosen something different and immediately decided that it was substandard.
Therefore, there were some "sharing issues" that occurred later in the day. However, Nathaniel was a great big brother and let Nick play with it for a while.
All in all, I much prefer THEIR trips to the dentist over MINE. Maybe I ought to talk to my dentist about establishing a drawer full of toys ...
5 comments:
I am with you....we LOVE Dr. Mike! And never fear, if your kiddos do end up ever having a cavity, they are AWESOME with them. No shots! No owies! I LOVE that whole place....
P.S. Didn't know about the 4 minute rule....thanks for the heads up!
P.P.S. When are we going to run in to each other...it's bound to happen some day soon, doncha think?
Jackson went to the dentist for the first time today. I blogged about it, of course, but I forgot my camera so I didn't get any pictures.
Our dentist doesn't let parents back with the kids. That's traumatic fo the momma's, but the kids seem to do fine.
We LOVE Dr. Mike too!!
I work for a pediatric dentist and it was nice to read a "parents" perspective on the "toys" they are so so cheap. I hate them also, but the kids get so dag gone excited about them. The office looks really nice. It was alot of fun to see the pictures, thank for sharing!
Shannon, I know the toys are really about the kids, not about what the parents want. :) I DO appreciate the fact that the dentist and his staff want the kids to WANT to come to the dentist, and if bribery is their method, I'm on board with it! But yes, they toys are pretty much crap.
Post a Comment