The 1st Visit to the Dentist

Mr Too-Cool-For-School 

Noey achieved another milestone this week, when on Valentine's Day (no less), he paid his first visit to the Dentist.

While the books that I read recommended that you bring your child to the dentist at around 18 months, I didn't. Knowing full well how sensitive Noey is, and seeing as how every trip to cut his hair is a full-on ordeal, we didn't think that he would take too kindly to someone poking around in his mouth. Fortunately, our Paed assured us that it wasn't a problem delaying the visit to the Dentist till he was about 2-3 years old, had his full set of teeth, and was in a better position to understand what was going on. Of course, we were tasked with brushing his teeth diligently, which DD did. (Papa is the chief toothbrusher in our home!)

It was only after I had a twitter conversation with some friends about their kids' dental issues that I decided it was probably time to bring Noey for a check-up just to make sure everything was ok. After asking around, I decided on and made an appointment for him at GPA at United Square. And started praying very hard for the best!

I prepped him a bit everyday for a few days preceding the visit. I told him how important it was to visit a Dentist, and how his friends (like Kristy!) see a Dentist regularly. We also read his "Going to the Dentist" book over a couple of times diligently. He seemed ok with it, which I took as a good sign.

On Tuesday I brought him down to the clinic and when we arrived, I was glad that I went for the kid friendly option of choosing GPA because there was a cosy little corner with books and toys which Noey was quite happy to entertain himself in while I got him registered. That gave him some time to settle down and when the Dentist came out to call us, I could sense that while a bit hesitant, he was ok about it.

We walked into the treatment room and lo and behold! Toy Story 2 playing on the screen above the dental chair. Noey's eyes latched on, and from that point, he was really quite ok with everything. He put on the glasses that the Dentist had for him -- how cute are those geeky round frames? -- and settled down obligingly. He was also quite fascinated when the Dentist switched the camera on and started taking photographs of his teeth.

Overall, the Dentist gave Noey's teeth a clean bill of health, which I was pretty happy about. There was just one slight spot between his front teeth that he instruct us to watch out for and brush more thoroughly but there weren't any other issues. Yay.

Eyes on the screen above him! 

The white stick the Dentist is holding is a camera.

Because Noey can be quite freaked out by the buzzing sound of the shaver, I asked the Dentist not to use the machine to polish Noey's teeth. The Dentist therefore did it by hand, brushing each tooth with the little round brush. He scraped a bit, got Noey to rinse, then applied a fluoride gel on his teeth, and we were done!

Immediately on stepping out, Noey turned to me and said, "I was so brave!" I thought so too and gave him a big hug.

Showing me the "I am a Great Patient" sticker he got from the Dentist.

He made a beeline for the books that we were reading before the check-up once we got out of the treatment room.

And a great patient he was indeed!

The whole visit cost me over $140 for the consultation, cleaning and the application of the fluoride gel. Ouch. I didn't realise you can pay using the CDA and made a mental note to bring his BC and the card the next time round. It was pricey but with the positive experience, I guess it was money well spent!

Noey got a ride -- that I actually paid for -- in a coin ride of his choice as a reward for being so cooperative at the Dentist. He was as pleased as punch!  

By the way, since that day, he's made me read "Going to the Dentist" umpteen times!