Monday at the Dentist
August 26, 2008 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Health
The high point of my Monday occurred around 8.45am. I was one of four adults standing around Charlie, who was reclining in a chair with a certain glint in his eye as he followed, and didn’t follow, our requests to “open your mouth” and “put your hands down” and “just a little longer!”
“Say aaahhh!” Charlie added his own request to himself and showed off his pearly whites—-the metaphor is very fitting, as Charlie had his six month dentist check-up yesterday morning and it was his best ever. And we barely practiced.
For the past two years, “going to the dentist” has been something we’ve been working on regularly with Charlie. His home ABA therapists taught him to keep his mouth open and his hands down (two very basic skills for a dentist appointment); about two and a half years ago, Charlie started brushing his own teeth a little (after Jim and I trying to coax him to let us run the toothbrush over a few teeth some nights), and he’s ever since been working on this a couple of times a day, at home and at school. For the past two visits, we asked an ABA therapist to be present; yesterday, it was back to Jim and me.
I’d said that I’d keep up “dentist practice” after Charlie’s home ABA program ended in February and, well, practice has been pretty sporadic. Charlie’s been brushing his teeth so well, and he’s lost a couple of teeth, and he brushes them every day still at school and rare was the time when I’d tell him to brush his teeth before bed and he refused to. A couple times at the beach I asked Charlie if he might lie down while I brushed his teeth (with a spiffy new electric toothbrush that Jim bought when the SpongeBob one gave out) and Charlie very obligingly opened his mouth. No big deal.
So on Sunday evening I made sure to pack Charlie’s new toothbrush and on Monday we got a very groggy boy out of bed and drove off to the dentist. This dentist’s office is quite elaborate, with a couple of chairs in an open space and some smaller rooms, video screens, gumball machines, balloons, lots of fish tanks, video games—-most of that doesn’t interest Charlie, though. What made the difference was the fact that Charlie has now seen this dentist a couple of times and the hygienist was the same as last time. Charlie was quite amenable to the instructions issued (sometimes by numerous people) and, while he needed multiple reminders to keep his hands down (so he didn’t push away the dentist with the brush and pick), he grinned instead of crying. The dentist used Charlie’s toothbrush and a flavorless mixture of pumice and paste; at first the dentist and I both held the toothbrush, and then I let go and the dentist did the work.
As I was standing beside Charlie, no image was stronger in my mind than one from five years ago. A shoeless Charlie was screaming, writhing, bite-attempting, wriggling, and pretty much struggling with every bit of strength he had as the dentist (another dentist) tried to use the electronic toothbrush and a hygienist and Jim and I held onto Charlie. It was a terrible experience and I think I waited over a year before attempting to take Charlie to the dentist afterwards.
This Monday morning, with his teeth declared “in great shape,” Charlie hopped out of the chair, accepted a blue balloon, and followed Jim out to the car while I scheduled another appointment for February.
Almost forgot to mention: No cavities.
TH is, as they say, a “tough” exam. And the larger he grows, the tougher he is. That’s for MDs. We haven’t done the dentist yet…that appt is next month. His hands are a problem, always pushing away and flailing, but the last time we were at the doctor and she tried to look into his ears, it was his flailing legs that were the danger. Soon, there’s not going to be enough of me to manage him.
Great news on the checkup and outcome. For the Middleschool enrollment one of the papers asks last time seen by a dentist. I had to tell the truth and put down 2005.
That was at childrens hospital and such an ordeal. I need to start the process to get him there again for a checkup.
Also Nick needs to go back for work and then an ortho consult. Not looking forward to any of these visits.
Good deal Kristina, good deal.
(And good deal for Charlie, no cavities! Good going Charlie.)
It started out tough for us too, but with the happy coincidence of a good pediatric dentist, home practice and reinforcement, and some measure of growing up, the process has gotten easier (knock on wood).
(Last checkup Eleanor may have even been “flirting” with the dentist a little bit–or at least it looked that way! :-/ )
@Emily,
Kicking legs and hands pushing the dentist tools out of the way: Those (and keeping his mouth open) were the things that we focused on when teaching Charlie to go to the dentist. Holding onto Charlie’s no longer an option, hence the need for practicing!
@bonnie, will middle school work on dental skills?
@Regan, I’ll have to watch how much wood I knock on—-lest I start thinking we could do braces.
Good reminder about middle school and dental skills since tomorrow is enrollment and tour and I am typing out my questions. Still have the IEP goals you posted for Charlie so I can see about something similar.
Great news about the no cavities! Gus did pretty well with the three dental visits he’s had. He wouldn’t take the electric brush, so they had to make due with brushing manually, but he was fine for the rest of his cleanings. And he was phenomenal when he had to have his teeth pulled because the permanents were in, but the baby ones hadn’t even thought about coming out. We actually have that issue again, but I’m not sure if I want to push our luck by having 2 more teeth pulled. But I also don’t want to have to do braces. Decisions.
I’ll have to watch how much wood I knock on—-lest I start thinking we could do braces.
I think I posted a ways back about our concerns and some of the trouble to get an orthodontist willing to see Eva and work with us on extra preparation. The short story is that, with a few more steps and visits than is usual, she has the needed orthodontic appliance installed and it was only the first day that was a real struggle. This is the trial balloon on the way to assessing tolerance for braces and letting her get used to the orthodontics routine, should they be determined to be necessary (her bottom teeth are really rotated and misaligned and could give her significant oral hygiene problems that I would like to spare her in the long-view).
So far, so good, but as I said, knock on wood and first things first.
Shucks. I was avoiding that since I can’t really ask her permission to do so. If you don’t mind, I will revert to the pseudonym.
Tristan had in school dentists, but we had to change our dental plan because of costs for the rest of the family (he’s the only one getting regular dental care). I’m a bit scared to have to take him in…
We struggle every six months. I never look forward to it but the boys actually seem happy to go until they are told to open their mouths.
Incentives, like the book store, usually make them do what is needed to get through the visit.
We have yet to get xrays taken nor will they allow any mechanical tools near them.
They have both had some small carries but no fillings as such. I don’t want to think about that, we would probably have to go to the dentist who can anesthetize them.
No x-rays yet—-we’ve gotten the film into Charlie’s mouth but he does not keep it in there.
@Regan, both names are lovely! OT: I thought about an “alias” for Charlie when I started blogging but Charlie he is.
Regan, beautiful name.
Aaaargh! I’d completely forgotten about x-rays. That’s gonna be fun.
I’m happy for you Kristina, and Charlie! I know how it is to have to prepare for such expeditions. I have noticed that things like the dentist and haircutting in our case too have become easier over time with less prep. Perhaps the experience itself being all the prep a guy needs now! I hope our experience will be as good as your’s!