First Dental Visit

Last week BA had his first trip to the dentist. It wasn't exactly as I had planned. Since he is now two, I had hoped that he would just get a routine cleaning scheduled when the rest of the family had theirs. Unfortunately, Ben found a dark spot on one of his back molars while brushing his teeth. When he called me in to tell me the news, my stomach cringed and I thought I might throw up. I have been extremely determined that my children would not have a cavity. I had several as a child, and the mere memory of that has driven me to religiously brush his teeth every evening. I simply didn't want him to have that experience.

Nonetheless, we did some searching on the net, and we found a practice we thought would be great. We had no idea how absolutely amazing the folks at Fort Worth Pediatric Dentistry would be. I wouldn't have even dreamed the visit would have gone so well. Here's a brief history of our visit.

Like all "first visits," we arrived and filled out some paperwork. They called us back nearly as quickly as I could get the paper work finished (maybe 5-10 minutes). As I walked in, I saw lots of kids playing...and a few nurses and dentists playing too! Isn't that amazing? All the patient chairs were out in the open, and there were lots of toys all in between. You would have never guessed these kids were getting teeth cleaned or dental work done. We watched in amazement at the dentists mingled in between their patients. They gave such care to the kiddos. It was as if they were playing with the kids, and they happened to clean teeth in the midst of it. I have never seen anything like it.

When it came to be our son's "turn" to have his teeth examined, the dentist picked him up and placed him in the chair. BA was uncertain of him because he was a "stranger," but Dr. Weiner's kind heart won him over. Interestingly enough, before they try anything in the kid's mouth, they try it on their fingernails to see how the child will react. I thought this was a great idea.

Once BA had his teeth examined, Dr. Weiner told us he had "good news." He said BA's cavity was a result of his genetics. He has an extra crown on his back molars with a crevice that is nearly impossible to get food out of. Once something gets in it, it kind of sticks in there. We were forewarned to pay extra attention to the other side, with hopes that we won't have this problem over there. At the conclusion of the visit, BA was given a ball and a balloon that they made in the shape of a fish for him.

Once we got to the car, I asked BA what he did at the dentist's office. He replied, "He gave me some water. He cleaned my nails. That was nice of him." I could hardly hold back the laughter. The cleaning of his nails as a test left more of an impression on him than anything Dr. Weiner did to his mouth.

If you are within driving distance of this practice, and you have children, I HIGHLY recommend this dental practice to you. Not only do they give fantastic care, they are priced reasonably. We only paid $52 for the cleaning and consultation- without dental insurance!