He's Unimpressed With The Dentist

I know that kids typically make their first trip to the dentist when they're around three, but I also knew that Chase was not going to cooperate at that tender age, so I held off for about a year.  I finally took him in on Friday, hoping for the best, but expecting a little less.  And can you guess what I got?  A little less, of course.

We began our experience with a wonderful aquatic display that Chase absolutely loved.  So far so good!

Then they called us back.  Chase noticed that the acquatic theme continued on the walls in the form of tasty looking murals.  An attempt was made to lick the mural, but don't worry -- no contact was made.

Then we moved on to X-rays.  He did a great job of sitting and holding that little tab in his teeth, but it took a while for the hygienist to get situated and by the time she finally did, he was done with the sitting and the holding of that thing between his teeth.  So...no X-rays were taken.

Then we moved to the chair.  I had explained this process to Chase several times, but he wanted nothing to do with it.  This is the only picture I was able to take because after this, how shall I say this...my assistance was required.

I won't bore you with the details of what happened next, but lets just say that with a little 'prompting', he was able to have his teeth flossed and painted with flouride.  They didn't use any instruments to clean his little teeth, and I'm sure you can guess why.  As aforementioned, he was having none of it.

But I am happy to report that he is part of the No Cavity Club!  Hooray, Chase!  Clearly I am happier about this than he is.

In all fairness, it took Cole, who is a way more laid back child, a couple of visits to the dentist before he would allow them to fully clean his teeth, (of course, he was only three and Chase is nearly four, but I won't mention that).  And it doesn't help that we ended his visit on a rough note.  There were a bunch of toys on display behind the receptionists' desk, so although Chase got a balloon, he was under the impression that he would be leaving with one of those big toys on display; specifically a Transformer.  So when we left the office without a Transformer, he thought it would be appropriate to let me know how upset he was about this.  This demonstration required two hands, which meant that he let go of the balloon, which then floated way up to the twenty foot tall ceiling, there was no way I could reach it and there was no way I was going back to ask for another one.  Soooooo...that sent Chase into further depths of agony and despair.  Lets just say it was a long and tormented ride home...for both of us. 

I have high hopes that Chase will do better next time. Until then, he remains thoroughly unimpressed with his lack of a balloon, a Transformer, and the dentist.