Da' Dentist

Last night was Joshua's follow-up appointment with the pediatric dentist. He was nervous to go, but he remembered the train table and toys there, and I finally convinced him it was a good plan. When we got to the waiting room, he found an etch-a-sketch and fell in love with it. How funny! I remember playing with those when I was little. Only, we couldn't remember (or figure out) how to erase it. He was quite the artist!

Then we were called back to the area where he got to play with the trains. Dr. Aaron Miller came in and talked to me then asked Joshua to climb up in the seat so he could take a look. As Joshua sat there, big tears welled up in his eyes, and he began to shake with fear. The doctor looked around a bit and then gave him a sticker. He noted that where Joshua's teeth weren't formed properly in the womb (in the back of his mouth) is now showing signs of decay. They had told me that was a probability ever since we first visited, but up until this point, it hadn't been an issue. He also noted there was another spot on the other side of his mouth that may have been damaged from the fall. But, with Joshua's anxiety level, he didn't want to do anything with either area for a month to give his mouth and body more time to heal.

Everything looked good otherwise, and he didn't recommend spacers for the front. He told us that we could put in fake teeth up front for a ton of money, and they would break if he ate anything too hard. They wouldn't really be helpful to save space and it would be solely for vanity purposes. He highly recommended against doing that because he said that our little buddy had been through enough. I agreed. If Joshua doesn't need them, why make him go through anything else? So, we go back to get the Bean checked out and hopefully fixed up during his spring break week of preschool in March.

After getting the Bean's stickers and answering a few more of my questions, the dentist escorted us out to where they normally give Joshua a prize for being there. But, the office ladies told us all to "COME QUICK!" to the front waiting room. We all ran out to watch their lizard (or really a bearded dragon) giving birth to eggs. I guess it's not giving birth if the eggs aren't fertilized, but either way, this thing was pushing out eggs like it was Easter! They told me that she had laid 18 eggs last week and I'm guessing there were already half a dozen in the tank with her at this point. I asked what they did with these eggs, and they said that they throw them away. She hides them all throughout her cage, and they have to dig through the sand to find them and discard them. YUCK! I asked why they don't get her a husband, and the doctor explained that these things are severely territorial and would fight with one another if they were forced to live in an aquarium together. But, it was cool to watch, and Joshua was enthralled. His dentist took a picture of the sight (they said she had never done it during office hours before - they usually just come in to find them there). Neat-o!

We went back and the office lady gave Joshua a prize (he picked a little frog out of the basket) and a cowboy boot silly band (the entire office is themed in cowboy stuff). Then we scheduled his next appointment and came home to tell Daddy about our visit. This year Caleb Luke will start going to the dentist, too. They grow up so fast!