Wednesday, April 14, 2010

First Trip to the Dentist

I think the trip was mostly traumatic for me.

I have to tell you that I'm not very good at brushing their teeth on a daily basis. Nope. Not at all. When the end of the day comes and it's Screamin' Time, I'm working as hard as I can to get them into bed without losing my mind. Brushing their teeth becomes a Nice to Have, instead of a Must Have. (Project Manager Me won't go away.)

However, it was finally time to take them in to see the pediatric dentist on Monday.

Caitlin, upon going to the dentist for the very first time, loved it. Having had that so easy the first time, clearly meant the twins wouldn't.

Fortunately they didn't freak out and scream and holler as soon as we stepped in the door, but there was no sweet little scene with them letting the dentist "count" their teeth. Instead it was "Let me show you how to hold them to get their teeth brushed." and apply head lock! Insert finger pulling mouth open to one side!

ACK! Those are my babies!

Have you ever watched a doctor or Person of Authority put your kid into some sort of hold? That shit is traumatizing! For both of us! (Logan wasn't having any of it and had to have his feet and hands restrained while Eric held him. Yes, I made Eric come to the first appointment because there was no way I was going in solo! Emma was better sitting in my lap, but had wide, frightened eyes and lots of "Ehhh! Ehhh!" Poor things!)

At home, it's actually a lot easier than that, although bribery often has to be involved. "Do you want to read a book/watch a movie? Then let me brush your teeth first!" Yes, I have resorted to bribery and throw movies around like they're goin' out of style. Other parents use candy and toys to distract their children. I use movies. Siiiiigh.

What can I say? The 30-90 minutes of quiet a movie will buy me is worth it to just get the dishes done without being climbed by short people. Ask any other mom of twins. I bet they'll tell you the same.

So, after the headlock-brushing, the trauma was mostly over. The twins got to choose new brushes for themselves, stickers and a little toy. I got to pay the bills and wish I'd waited to bring them in when they were 3. Ah well. That's when we'll next be back, so we'll have another shot at it. Hopefully with less application of head lock!

In the meantime, those are some nice, shiny teeth!*








* Yes, I have been brushing their teeth twice a day since Monday. Maybe for their next appointment we'll have more "Say Ah!" and less wrestling moves. I hope.

6 comments:

screamish said...

jeeezus, a headlock? what???

Ive been thinking about the same stuff. i bought the girls little baby toothbrushes but they spied our big ones in the bathroom and refused to use the wimpy little things.

so we've bought them adult soft toothbrushes and in the bath i sing "brush brush brush your teeth" to the tune of row your boat.

for the moment it's working, but Im already freaking about tartar and decay...

tonight i cut (oh, TRIED to) cut their toenails for the first time and the screaming was impressive. i found myself on the carpet sitting on one baby holding her down doing it.

oh my GOD!! it's come to this...

Woman with a Hatchet said...

Don't panic about tartar just yet. Seriously, I was BAAAAAAD about brushing their teeth for the last 2.5 years and they're JUST FINE.

Just kinda get 'em used to it now and you'll be peachy when you go visit the dentist the first time. Though I'd recommend waiting for closer to 3. Two somethings aren't really ready, I don't think. At least, mine weren't!

Hava said...

As someone whose kids have terrible teeth (thank you life saving antibiotics for stunting my kids enamel production) we have been going to the dentist for over a year now. To the tune of $300 a visit since we didn't put the twins on our dental insurance (we thought we had till they were 2!)
Anyways we floss their teeth with flossers and to brush their teeth we sit spread leg on the ground and lay them on their back. I will trap Derby's arms with my thighs if need be and brush. The Raffi song "Brush Your Teeth" seems to keep them quiet.
The dentist said to brush their teeth for at least a minute (yeah right). I go for as long as someone doesn't bite my fingers. Derby really likes this Elmo electric brush he got, though it scares Loen. I think it was from the drugstore.

alessa said...

trauma city, they'll be scared for life.

dean usually doesn't see such little folk. and he's not very good with kids either, which is half the reason why we aren't having any. the other half is that I'm not good with kids too!

ellen said...

We had a rough time brushing Seth's teeth when he was a baby, 12-18 months especially. So, we'd let it slide because it wasn't worth the fight. He'd close his little mouth up and wouldn't open up for anything. Around 2 though, I noticed gray in between his top front teeth! Yup, a cavity!

So, the deal around here is at bedtime we brush teeth, then you get stories. Bribery is a fine art my friend...

Tabatha Aikins said...

Well honey, there are certain situations where the parent fears the dentist more than her kids. I've also had the same feeling before, you know. Haha! Gladly, I've overcome it easily, through great motivation of my kids (who love their dentist SO much), and because of my dentist also. Hehe!

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