We took D to the dentist for the first time this week and it was a fabulous experience. The dental hygienist (did I spell that right?) was so gifted. Right from the first contact when she came to find us in the waiting room, she was focused on D and talking to D ("Who did you bring with you today?"). She was super positive and encouraging and kept telling D to open up her mouth big like a hippopotamus (again - too lazy to spellcheck). When it was time to examine her teeth, the dental hygienist and Papa sat facing each other with their knees touching and D was lying on their legs. D seemed a bit shy but she wasn't scared and she was delighted with the big smiley face sticker that she got. For the whole rest of the day, she was eager to tell everyone that she'd been to the dentist.
And we were really pleased too. Mme Dental Hygiene showed us the most effective way to brush D's teeth and even taught us some stuff we didn't know about dental hygiene. For instance: apparently cavities are contagious, like germs. Really! In addition to being informative, she was also so affirming: she congratulated us both on our commitment to breastfeeding, and thanked us for caring about our children's teeth. (Okay, yah, A doesn't have any teeth yet, but still. We care about them already.)
We also found out that this was actually the very first time that our local medical and social services centre offered this dental clinic. In fact, it's a provincial pilot project. I'm thoroughly impressed with this initiative and I hope lots of parents will take advantage of it. Yes, FandtheF endorses the dental clinic! Come one, come all!*
*That is, if you have a preschooler and you live in my neighbourhood.
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