Off to the Dentist
pamelamyers | July 31, 2017
It was Sam’s favorite (not) day of the year, her twice annual trip to the dentist. Thankfully, she has really mellowed about it. She still doesn’t like it, but it is not the screamfest it used to be. She just whines about it a lot. And more thankfully, she always has a perfect checkup. This year, I was interested in a couple of things: (1) if any of her baby teeth are loose because it’s been ages since she lost any, and (2) I wanted to ask her regular dentist about those sealants that were recommended. The last time she was at the dentist, it wasn’t her usual one, and honestly, I didn’t like the woman. She recommended the sealants, didn’t really tell me what they were and kind of blew me off. We were the last appointment of the day, and I kind of felt like she was just rushing us out the door. I did speak to my dentist about them at my next visit and got a ton of useful info. He doesn’t recommend them for all kids, only ones who would seem to benefit from them because of the actual physicality of their molars, their own dental history, their family dental history (as in, how strong are your parents’ teeth), etc.
Her regular dentist was there, Dr. Megan, and she said Sam’s x-rays looked great, and her teeth are in perfect shape. She did point out to me that her next two adult teeth on the bottom are clearly ready to pop through her gums, but her teeth aren’t loose yet. She told me that once they break the gumline, give the baby tooth three weeks to start getting loose, if it isn’t already. If it’s not loose, give them a call. I don’t know how I never noticed the adult teeth! I brush her teeth every day! She never mentioned the sealants, so I brought them up. She told me that she thinks it would be premature for Sam to have them, which is why she didn’t mention them, but she did see the note from the other dentist. I was glad that she mentioned all the factors that my dentist did as a consideration. I really like this dentist – I hope she never leaves! She told me that Sam’s adult molars are not 100% protruded from her gums yet, so she would wait. It was her plan to re-evaluate in six months. So, I’ll see what she says. But in the meantime, Sam checked out perfectly, got lots of little jewelry and prizes, and it was a good day!