The kids were very good. Although there was a kid's room at the dental office - complete with two sit-down Pac-Man games and a flat-screen TV playing DVD's, the kids wanted to be together. Caitlin went in first, and was such a big girl during her 360 degree dental x-ray, and all the individual x-rays. I truly think she wants to be a big girl, and things like going to the dentist, wearing her lead vest, and behaving well put her up a notch closer to that category. She then moved on to the dental office, where she waited for her first exam. After Caitlin's x-rays were done, Brandon moved on in to the x-ray room. He was just as good, being still for his 360 degree x-ray, and doing all the right stuff for his other x-rays and pictures. Caitlin went down in ranking from her "extremely good girl" status to "not so great" when she wouldn't stay in the exam room. The rooms were right next to each other, but yet she kept popping out, or having to go down the hall for unknown, mysterious reasons. I spent a good chunk of time following after her and leading her back to the exam room. After the dentist came in for her exam, she managed to stay put - even holding the suctioning device for the hygenist. She got to wear sunglasses during the exam, and for some reason, looked like a biker chick to me! Brandon, of course, was completely fine. He was excellent for our dentist back in California when he was 3 1/2, and I doubted he would have regressed now that he's older!
It was an experience for me, too. The 360 degree x-ray shows the kids' whole mouths. Not only can you see their jaws and teeth that are visible, but you can see all the adult teeth and molars hiding up in the gums, just waiting to come down. And they're big, too! Brandon's 12 year molars are already showing, along with Caitlin's 6 year molars. It's pretty amazing. On my own x-ray from my appointment a week earlier, I could see where my sinuses connect to my jaws, which explains why all my teeth hurt when I get a head cold or allergies. If it affects my sinuses, my teeth just ache! All our x-rays looked like something out of a horror movie, but they were fascinating!
Their results were good, too. No cavities for either kid. Not even an hint of a cavity. Caitlin did have some tartar issues. Brandon must take after me, as he had hardly any tartar on his teeth at all. The dentist noted that Brandon may not ever need orthodontic work. His teeth are evenly spaced and very straight, with plenty of room to house the adult teeth and molars that are already there on the x-ray. So far there aren't any wisdom tooth buds, so he may not have to worry about those, either. Of course, mine didn't come in until I was in college, and I got them out in my late twenties. Caitlin, on the other hand, already has a crossbite, which will need to be orthodontically treated when she's older. It's an even crossbite - as if her upper jaw shifted to one side. But it will reshape her jaws and teeth if not treated at some point. Her teeth don't have a lot of space between them like Brandon's, so there's no telling if her adult teeth will be straight when they come in, or crooked due to lack of space. I guess I should start putting money aside for braces now that I know she'll need them at some point!
You can see more pictures of the kid at the dentist on my picture site here.
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