Maddie Wanted to Get Her Teeth Cleaned!

When Maddie got her first tooth, the first thing I thought of was what her first trip to the dentist would look like. I had visions of pinning the poor child down as she cried when the only good thing about it was that at least her mouth was open from the crying.

In May 2006 when Maddie was two years old, we tried to take her to the dentist for the first time. We took around 5:00 at night after she woke up from her nap. We were rushed - she always wakes up cranky from naps (she gets that from her dad!), and she was hungry. The dentist was somebody we had never met before and was way too animated for Maddie's taste so Maddie acted accordingly and refused to open her mouth for any purpose. We didn't push her and said we would try again someday.

Someday was today.

All three of us went today (a Sunday) after a relaxing morning of breakfast and cartoons in bed. While dad has his checkup, Maddie watched me get my teeth cleaned from beginning to end. The hygienist was awesome and would explain what she was doing throughout the entire process. Maddie was soooo interested and was studying my teeth almost as much as the hygienist. When I finished, Maddie quickly exclaimed, "MY TURN!" and hopped in the seat with anticipation. I told the hygienist that since Maddie didn't even have an appointment, I would be happy if she was simply able to get a finger inside of her mouth! And then Madeline surprised me...

She lay down flat, soft and still. She rested her hands on her belly just like I had done, closed her eyes just as I had done and let the hygienist use the metal pick to clean her teeth, use the sprayer to clean between her gums, and even let her use that really interesting mint polish on her teeth. She opened wide when asked and closed her mouth when asked so the "spit sucker" could do it's job. All in all, she was in the chair for almost 20 full minutes. No decay and her teeth are in great shape! :)

She was amazing and we're so proud of her. My goodness, she's growing up fast!