Fun At The Dentist

I took the kids to the dentist on Friday. It was for a cleaning and check up. One would think that something like that would be so simple. The kids would just happily open their mouths wide and cooperate. Ha!

Our pediatric dentist office is super friendly and typically the kids love going there. Mostly because as soon as you walk into the waiting room, they have a movie playing, this time it was “Finding Dory”. To the right of the waiting room is another little room, that has tons of kids book another TV with the same movie playing and an older style arcade game from my own childhood, the kind you sit at facing your opponent looking down at the screen in between you while you navigate the game with a joystick and one or two buttons. I guess I do deprive our children of screens if they’re excited to go to the dentist to watch movies and play three decade old arcade games.

The boys immediately went into that little room and started playing the arcade game while also attempting to watch the movie at the same time. Soon neither kid was playing the game, but was glued to the TV, unable to move. Everything was fine until we got called back to be seen. 

As soon as the boys were called, though it took a minute to get his attention, Captain Awesome followed the hygienist ready and willingly. While Lieutenant Amazing started to follow his brother, then realized where he was headed and quickly turned around and headed out the front door of the office and outside to the car. I had no choice but to follow my five year old out to the parking lot, while the hygienist took my oldest back to be weighed. 

After a little chase around the car and a threat of him getting in trouble, I was able to pick up my five year old and carry him inside, but not without a fight. When we got to the scale to find out his weight, again he wouldn’t cooperate. I kept physically lifting him up off the ground and setting Lieutenant Amazing on the scale and as soon as I set him on the scale he would hop off or grab the counter, altering the numbers on the digital scale. It was a minute or so before I finally got him to hold still enough to see that this little guy weighed 40lbs.

The next step was convincing them both to get their X-rays. Again Captain Awesome had no problem with it, he willingly followed the dental assistant and took the pictures of his teeth, while Lieutenant Amazing and I sat waiting to go next. I explained to Lieutenant Amazing that the X-rays don’t hurt and that it allows the dentist to see how his teeth are growing. 

When it was Lieutenant Amazing’s turn to take the X-rays, I asked the technician if he would be able to see his previous pictures. She willingly showed him. It was pretty cool to see his teeth in the X-ray, especially the adult teeth that are growing below his baby teeth. He was intrigued by it, but then the technician gave him an out. She was talking to me, but since he was sitting right there, he heard her say, “if he doesn’t want to take the X-ray today, he doesn’t have to.” Part of me was relieved, because I knew he would be difficult, but then part of me was a little annoyed because this girl just gave my kid an out, when he really didn’t need it. He could have cooperated just fine, if necessary.

The next thing was getting the cleaning. On the ceiling while the kids are getting a cleaning they can watch a movie. This was a completely different movie than what was being shown in the waiting room. My oldest son went first, without a problem. The hygienist was able to clean his teeth without any problems.

Then it was my little guy’s turn. And the difficulties began again. He wouldn’t get in the chair. He didn’t want her to clean his teeth. Finally I picked him up and put him in the seat while he fought me. I then promised him that I would not leave his side while he was getting his teeth cleaned and told him that it wouldn’t hurt. At that point the hygienist showed him how the toothbrush felt on his finger and he began to calm down. 

Meanwhile the movie is playing and my oldest son at this point is sucked into the story. Unfortunately this particular part that’s playing is where the hero dog, loses his mom to death. There is a montage of all the loving emotional experiences that the hero dog has had with his mom and then the dog dies. I look at my seven year old’s face, who looks at me horrified and completely unsure of what to think or feel. 

All I can do is grab him and pull him close to me, hugging him while he cries into my shirt. The hygienist says, “aww…he is very sensitive,” with her heavy Spanish accent. “It’s okay that is the only sad part in the movie. There is a funny part next. Just keep watching.” I feel so bad for my child, I don’t know what to do to make things better for him. I just keep holding him while he gathers himself and at this point the little one is starting to behave himself and is cooperating. 

Then came time to see the dentist. Captain Awesome went first to demonstrate to brother how it’s not so bad to have your teeth checked, but unfortunately that didn’t work. Instead when it was Lieutenant Amazing’s turn he ran out of the room and down the hall towards the front door again. I chased him down grabbed him and put him on the chair next to his brother. The dentist quickly checked him while he was snuggled right next to his brother.

As soon as the check up was over my little one ran back down the hall and immediately started going through the treasure box to pick out his prize, followed close behind was big brother. While I talked to the receptionist about our insurance coverage for sealants for the oldest kid, they picked through all of the prizes. 

We had to sit in the waiting room while the hygienist got the room ready to put the sealants on Captain Awesome’s teeth and while we waited, my kids threw not one but two toys at the receptionist. Not on purpose of course, purely by accident. 

The little one was bouncing his new prize bouncy ball in the waiting room, which bounced off the counter and behind the receptionist’s computer. I felt so bad, it startled her and she let out a little yelp. Then shortly after he did that, my oldest son was attempting to make his new parachute toy deploy and fly by throwing it up in the air as high as he could, only to throw it directly at the receptionist desk and again startled her and made her yelp.

It was one of those days that I wanted to put a paper bag over my head and draw a happy face on the outside of it with eye holes for me to see. Then I could hide and pretend nobody could see me and maybe not notice my crazy kids, while I still looked like I was smiling. At the same time, it’s days like this, that make life interesting and so worth living.