The Good and the Pride

Micah has been to the dentist every six months for years. And every six months for years, he is all fascinated by the work done in his siblings mouths while not wanting anything to do with work in his own. We've tried holding him down to get a quick look-see, and letting him sit in the chair all by himself while admiring his beautifully closed lips, and a few times we've actually been able to see teeth without having fingers bitten. It's been fun.

Today at the dentist my big boy helped the hygenist with the other kids' cleanings (we have the most patient staff ever), and when it was his turn to sit up in the chair, he did. All by himself. Without fussing. And then - and then! - he let the hygenist not only look at his teeth but clean them.

My boy. *sniff* He's growing up.

So as proud as I am about all this (and it's an incredible amount of pride, trust me), we're faced with the fact that the boy needs a tooth extracted and a cavity filled. This would be best done under anesthesia, but we just hate to do that for a whole lot of reasons. We're going to try Plan A, which is doing these things just like we would for any of the other kids. We're also willing to abort Plan A if we need to and formulate Plan B.

We've got the best dentist ever for being so reasonable and easy to work with. Lets just hope that Plan A goes so much better than I think it will. Because today? Today my boy rocked the dentist's chair. He made me proud.

4 comments:

Carol N. said...

Yay to wonderful dental assistance everywhere!

JennyH said...

Oh my goodness- I feel your pain with dentist appointments. Max is the same way. I usually have to lay in the chair, with him on top of me, my legs wrapped around his. I use one hand to hold his arms and the other to pry his mouth open while holding his head still with my face and shoulder!

One time, and only one time he did this all by himself. I thought, yes! we have moved past that. But no, we really hadn't. It was just a fluke!

I am hoping Micah's is not a fluke. Are you going to try laughing gas with him first? Praying it all works out. Why does he need a tooth pulled?

Flea said...

What a handsome boy. And how wonderful for you both!!!

Michelle said...

Yay for Micah. Bummer on the cavity and extraction though. Fingers crossed that Plan A goes well. You are so lucky to have such an awesome dental staff.