Clean as a Whistle

Today Erin had her first trip to the dentist's office for a cleaning. She didn't talk much about it beforehand, but once we entered the waiting room it became clear that she was feeling quite nervous. She climbed onto my lap and buried her face into my shoulder. When the hygienist opened the door and called Amy's name, Erin watched as Amy confidently strode into the back room. When the dentist came into the waiting room a few minutes later, Erin's eyes showed pure panic. But she bravely stood up when her name was called, and grabbed my hand. She refused to sit in the huge chair until we let her peek into the room where her sister was sitting, so that she could watch Amy having her teeth cleaned. Finally, she agreed to sit in the dentist's chair and let Dr. Laura look into her mouth.

She was petrified, but I was so proud of how well she cooperated. She followed all the instructions perfectly...too perfectly, in one instance. When the dentist asked her to sit up to rinse out her mouth, Erin did as she was asked. The dentist handed her a cup of water, and told her to swish the water in her mouth, and then spit it out. So, Erin did just that. Perhaps we should have told her to spit the water out in the sink, though. The directions apparently weren't too clear for my three-year-old, so she simply swished the water in her mouth, and then spit it right back out...at the dentist. The dentist was soaked, and so was Erin's lap. Dr. Laura didn't skip a beat, though, and after cleaning up the mess, she pointed to the sink and explained how it was used.

Finally, the cleaning was finished, and Erin climbed out of the chair. As we headed for the "prize drawer", Erin proclaimed, quite loudly, "That dentist not know what she is doing, Mama. She brushed my teeth with a bunch of dirt".

I suppose that toothpaste does taste a bit gritty...