I've been avoiding taking Max to the dentist, figuring he bites everything that goes near his mouth, and doesn't let me brush his teeth (although he will chew on a toothbrush daily - it's actually his new favorite church toy). I didn't really see the point of paying to have him bite a dentist. I mean, there is no way he was going to sit and say 'ahhh', or participate in 'counting teeth'!
But his new speech therapist was concerned about his bite (his teeth don't ever touch in front - only his molars). So I bit the bullet and scheduled an appointment. And then he threw up the night before, so I rescheduled it ;)
Piper saw the new dentist a few weeks ago and we really liked him, so I was even more concerned that he wouldn't want us back if Max bit him - ha! Actually, he sees a lot of special needs kiddos, so he knows what to expect.
Wednesday was his appointment. Luck would have it that as I jumped in the shower to get ready to leave, Max found a box of crayons and proceeded to eat a few. I tried best I could to brush them out, but he was less than cooperative. Awesome. First trip to the dentist with colored wax bits everywhere in his mouth! So off we went to the dentist. I gave him a toothbrush to chew on the way, and surprisingly, he got most of the crayons out.
Luckily, he had been there before with his sister, so he was familiar with the office. But he wanted no part of the big chair, even on my lap. So we put him back in his 'safe' stroller.
He loves to give high fives, so the dental assistant won him over giving several high fives, then showed him the tooth mirror and let him hold it. When the dentist came him, he did the same, and Max was pretty cooperative.... until he tried to put the mirror in his mouth to take a look. Max immediately bit down on the mirror and tried to chew it. Better than a finger!
So we struggled through an exam, and the dentist said his teeth looked pretty good. Whew. Not sure that he really got a good look - Max would open for a second at a time as he continued to chew on the mirror. Most kids with Ds have less grooves in their teeth, so they don't tend to get cavities as easy. He does have a messed up bite, and he strongly urged getting rid of the pacifier. Yeah... been working on that for a while, with no success. This kid is sensory seeking, orally, and needs to be chewing on something constantly, and the pacifier is his chewy of choice. (Did just order a few more chewy tubes - just can't find a way to keep them on him - he tosses them aside after a minute or two and we lose them... but that's another post.)
The dentist wanted to give Max a fluoride treatment. Luckily, since he loves to chew on a toothbrush, we just put the stuff on a toothbrush, and he kind of did it himself (after both the assistant and I gave it a go and Max refused to open his mouth).
Then I gave him more playroom time as a reward for being so, ahem, cooperative. He loves the slide. He would have stayed there all day rolling the cars down.
All in all, it went better than I expected it to. Not sure when we'll ever get a cleaning in, or xrays, but it's cheaper this way, right?? If you're local and need a pediatric dentist, check out http://www.kidgrin.com/. Thanks for the recommendation, Heather!
