Instead of going through with having Addie sedated for this dental cleaning, I decided to give it one more try.
Our appointment was first thing this morning and I spent the drive to the dentist office talking to Addie about her appointment.
I tried being positive and explaining to her that the dentist just wanted to brush her teeth and look at her pretty teeth.
When we arrived at the office, Addie started shaking and just couldn't stop.
Chris tried to distract her by taking her into the movie room.
From her view, she could see the door to the back and kept a very close watch on any activity taking place.
Not too long into our wait, Dr. Thomas came out to apologize for the delay.
He said "hello" to Addie and gave her a sticker and then exited quickly to the back.
Addie gave me the sticker with very shaky hands and she showed me just where to put it on her sweater.
Addie seemed to calm down a little.
When the hygienist called Addie's name, she walked with us to the back and at the point where she saw the x-ray machine, her fear overtook her.
I assured the hygienist that we needed to proceed with the x-rays (because I needed to make sure everything was developing appropriately, if for no other reason).
Being the mean Mommy that I am, I sat Addie on my lap, we suited her up in the radiation repellent garb and I held her tight so she couldn't move.
It was awful.
Sweet Addie just cried and cried and as we told her that she was doing such a good job and that we were just taking pictures, she would respond through her tears and say, "okay" or "ma'am".
Six x-rays later (and hoping that I was protected from the radiation by way of Addie's body shield)we had good enough pictures to call it quits.
When we walked in for Addie's teeth cleaning, the tears just kept on coming.
Thankfully, we have an amazing and very compassionate dentist, because he opted to clean Addie's teeth instead of having the hygienist do it.
That way, he could clean her teeth, while at the same time, take a really good look at her teeth and mouth.
I had to hold Addie down again and when she started to gag, Dr. Thomas decided to let Addie sit up with me by her side as he finished cleaning her teeth.
As awful and pitiful as it was, I was proud of Addie.
She is just so fearful, but tries her best to do everything we tell her to do.
When Dr. Thomas was finished, Addie went with Chris and the hygienist to pick out her prizes while Dr. Thomas gave me a great report.
Addie's teeth look beautiful and are very healthy!
Some of her six-year molars are starting to come in and so far, everything looks good.
I know that will probably change over the years as her adult teeth start to come in, but for now, I am just so happy to have a wonderful report!
I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate Dr. Thomas and his staff for their caring and compassionate attitude towards Addie.
They make my job as a parent so much easier by understanding Addie.
Their compassionate attitude removes the fear and worry I have over how Addie will react.
I cannot thank them enough and as always - if you are in the market for a Pediatric Dentist, I highly recommend Dr. Thomas.
~~~
After Addie's appointment, we stopped for breakfast, but Addie refused to eat or drink anything.
She was still so upset and still sniffling from all the tears.
When I took Addie to school, I wasn't certain how the rest of her day would go.
Laura gave me the following report (thank you Laura!!!):
"Hey,
Addie did fine today. She was very proud of her sticker. I asked her if she went to the dentist. She nodded her head. I asked if he looked in her ears. She said no ma’am. I asked if he looked at her hands. She said no ma’am. I said well then where did he look? She pointed to her mouth. I said oh that’s right the dentist looks in your mouth. She nodded. When Addie was washing her hands she yelled “Laura Look!!”. Then she pointed to her band-aids. I showed the appropriate sympathy for her boo-boos!"
