Bridget Goes to the Dentist

On Thursday, I took Bridget to the dentist with me since our dental hygienist recommended I bring her in to see what it was all about before she has her first cleaning at 3 years old. In case anyone's wondering, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry states that you should bring children to the dentist for the first time once they get their first tooth, or when they turn 1, but our dentist didn't require that early of a visit. And I was OK with that - 1 year old seems really premature to me.

I'm always nervous about going to the dentist because they inevitably find something wrong with my teeth every time; but with Bridget in tow, it felt like a new adventure. As I pulled into the mall parking lot where our dentist is located, Bridget asked, "Is this the dentist?" Then she asked again as we walked into the mall food court and again upon entering the corridor that leads to the office.

From the moment we sat down in the waiting room and Bridget located a teddy bear and a Disney Junior magazine, I knew that this was going to be a positive experience for her. We didn't wait long before the dental hygienist called us back and immediately engaged Bridget in conversation and offered her different things to look at while she explained what she was doing during my cleaning. Bridget was very friendly and well behaved and answered each yes/no question she was asked with "No" or "Um I fink so." Haha. She only got a little rowdy and squealed loudly when she saw the motion light-up aquarium lamp thing with the Nemo fish swimming by.

As far as the dentist part went, the hygienist let Bridget put the suction (or Mr. Thirsty) in my mouth, and she also sprayed water and then put Mr. Thirsty in Bridget's mouth (after changing the tip of course). While she was in there, the hygienist also took a quick look at Bridget's teeth and let me know that she's still missing two molars. I couldn't tell if Mr. Thirsty was Bridget's favorite part or if it was sitting on my lap and taking a ride in the dentist chair, but she definitely didn't mind being there.

After Bridget picked out a couple silly bands from the toy treasure chest, we went back into the waiting room so that I could schedule our next appointments. And Bridget, with some outgoingness she certainly didn't get from me, peeked out into the waiting room and greeted the college-age girl waiting with a "Hi! What's your name?" and then introduced herself with her first and last name. So freakin' cute.

Yup, she'll definitely do fine in January when it's time for her real first dentist appointment. Let's just hope she gets her father's perfectly healthy teeth and not mine.