No Phobia for My Kids

I'm not gonna lie. I'm absolutely terrified of going to the dentist's. I'm not afraid of height or confined space or hairy insects. I can even pick up a dead animal and throw it away if I absolutely have to (in fact, I have done it twice... 2 dead cats). But going to the dentist..... this is my phobia.

When I was in elementary school, I jumped out of the dentist's chair and ran all the way home because of the amount of pain that dentist had already put me through before he started talking to my grandmother about performing an oral surgery in which he would cut a piece of my jaw bone out on either side so my chin wouldn't stick out anymore. Well, if that didn't give you the chills, you're brave, I, on the other hand, am forever scarred from that experience. My body hyperventilates when I'm on that chair (that should be in some kind of torture chamber). I hate the fact that I'm in a vulnerable position in that chair. All the cold hard steel instruments and the horrible high-pitched sounds they make always make me wish someone would just knock me right out and wake me up when it's all over. Who would want to listen to their own tooth being drilled or feeling little pieces of their own teeth on their tongue?!

You can imagine what an ordeal it was for me when it came time to find Kai (and Wei down the road) a dentist. I don't want my kids to go through what I went through. In fact, I wanted to make damn sure that they don't have a bad experience at the dentist's office. I want my kids to have strong healthy teeth for the rest of their lives because a healthy body starts in the mouth with the teeth. Healthy teeth means proper chewing, which leads to a healthy digestive system, which equals effective absorption of nutrients, which results in regular and normal bowels. And we all know that, when your pooper's happy, life is gooooood!

And there are other benefits such as healthy eating habits and good pronunciation. Oh, and it looks good. All in all, teeth are important. Therefore, it's crucial to find a good dentist.

The dentist's office was recommended to me by a colleague of mine whose daughter just had 10 teeth pulled out a couple of weeks ago (I feel light-headed just typing these words). Her daughter did great at the office, but of course, the real pain started once they got home. However, I was impressed by how calm and unafraid her daughter was as my colleague described. I mean, she didn't faint or run away while they extracted TEN of her teeth!!! That says a lot, doesn't it?! "These people are experts when it comes to dealing with kids, I tell ya," my colleague said. "Even though they charge a bit more than some regular dentists, it's to~~tally worth the money."

I was sold!

Today, I saw how fun and relaxed going to the dentist's could be for the first time in my life!

From the get-go, there's a huge play area with two gigantic stuffed bears, all kinds of toys and books, and two "cars" that kids can drive on. The waiting areas are equipped with TV monitors and sets of headphone. The dental assistants are cheerful young girls who were obviously trained to deal with kids. The exam room is bright and spacious, and it was dotted with cute plastic animals here and there. In sum, the whole environment is non-threatening and very kid-friendly. There's a TV monitor on the ceiling right above Kai's chair, and as he requested, they put a Dora show on to distract him. Everything they did was done in a fun way: toothpaste in a ring, flossing between Kai's fingers before flossing his teeth, and constantly praising him for his bravery and cooperation. When the dentist was done with him and telling us to bring him back in 6 months, Kai cheerfully said, "Thank you" and started walking out of the exam room. No fears. No tears. Certainly no running the hell out of there for his dear life.

I wish they made it this fun and relaxed for the adults.

Bill and I asked the dental assistant to recommend some dentists for us adults, and we're gonna call and maybe set up a couple of appointments for ourselves. Oh, I can feel my heart rate increasing and palms getting wet.