The boys' first trip to the dentist

Cort and I have both been out of town for work, so I'm a little late posting about this, but Tuesday morning was the boys' first trip to the dentist. We took them to a pediatric dentist, Dr. Cammarata. Both boys did really great.

The exam room has a great play area in the center that the boys enjoyed. They also got their pictures taken and got to pick out a new toothbrush. The new toothbrushes are different colors than their old ones, which makes it hard for Mom to remember whose is whose.

They each had their teeth cleaned by the hygienist, who was really great with kids. I hung out with Joseph, who was very reluctant at first. But he loved touching the cleaning apparatus, which tickled, and had picked out his toothpaste on his own (ok, with a little help - he picked orange). The hygienist finally convinced him to let her clean just one tooth, and pretty soon he was opening his mouth on command for her. Charlie went next and Cort hung out with him. He needed a little extra holding on to Daddy, but he also did very well (he picked the cherry toothpaste, for the record).

Both boys then saw Dr. Cammarata, who counted and checked out their teeth (Joseph had 20; Charlie 16). No cavities anywhere! Dr. Cammarata did recommend getting rid of the binkies soon, particularly for Joseph (which is interesting, because Charlie is much more attached to his binkie, but apparently the way Joseph holds his causing more of a problem with his bite). I'm not sure when we will try to kick the habit.

All in all, the visit went very well -- except for the fact that Charlie has had buyer's remorse for 2 days over the slinky he picked as a prize for being a good boy. Apparently he wishes he had picked the bear. He gets very upset every time he sees the slinky. It's going to be a long 6 months until our next dentist visit.