Are You Sure This Is A Dental Office?

Two weeks ago yesterday Flower fell down and hit her two front teeth on our wood floor. Her teeth were pretty sore for a few days but we thought everything would be fine and really, there isn’t much we could do anyway. A couple days ago one of her front teeth started to turn a little gray. I spoke to our dentist two weeks ago and he assured me she most likely didn’t do any damage to her permanent teeth and to call him if anything changed.

This morning I called our dentist to tell him her tooth is turning gray and he referred us to a pediatric dentist in town. The only pediatric dentist in our region I was told. I called the pediatric dentist and they had me bring Flower in at noon. It was quite the experience. Completely different from any dental appointments with Princess.

The office was wild….as in jungle wild. Murals on every wall, movies playing everywhere you look (including in the ceiling above the chairs), video game stations in the waiting room, two huge fish tanks with colorful fish and bright, cheery dental assistants. It felt more like a carnival than a dental office. To tell you the truth, it was sensory overload for me. Flower, however, loved it.

Flower sat still for an x-ray and didn’t hesitate at all when the dental assistance asked her to come back to one of the animal theme rooms. Flower played with the chair and looked all over the kid friendly room. By the time the dentist got to us Flower was completely comfortable in the chair and didn’t mind one bit when he raised her up, tipped her back, and poked all around in her mouth.

I learned Flower has a crossbite but will mostly likely out grown it in a couple years. Her front teeth are a little loose so we have to go back in two weeks for a quick check to make sure they tighten up. The x-rays showed her root wasn’t completely straight but it may have been that way before her fall. We go back in 6 months for another x-ray to see how it’s doing. The dentist said there is a 98% chance her tooth will eventually lightened up to it’s normal color and fall out normally in a few years but we’ll have to wait and see.

I was so proud of how well Flower did today. She followed instructions and wasn’t afraid of anything or anyone. Maybe it was the atmosphere; after all, we were dealing with professionals. I think Flower really enjoyed her dental appointment. Flower sat still in the chair and let the dentist examine her teeth which is way more than Princess has done in any of the four dental appointments she has had to date. I like our dentist but I’m thinking I might take Princess to the new dentist for her next checkup and see if she enjoys the experience as much as Flower.