"Plus, it's nice to have a professional confirm you're not totally messing things up... parenting anxiety is real, haha."
Haha, totally relate to this! We took ours around 14 months, and honestly, it was mostly just him chewing on the dentist's mirror handle. But yeah, early exposure definitely helped ease the drama later on. You're doing great.
Haha, I remember our first dentist trip vividly—my daughter just stared suspiciously at the dentist the entire time, like "who is this stranger poking around my mouth?" 😂 But yeah, totally agree that getting them used to it early helps a ton later on.
"it was mostly just him chewing on the dentist's mirror handle."
Lol, at least your little one was entertained! Did anyone else's kid have a weirdly positive reaction to the dentist from the start, or is that just wishful thinking...?
Haha, you'd be surprised how many kids actually do pretty well at their first dentist visit. I've seen some little ones who are totally chill, just sitting there like it's no big deal while we poke around their mouths. Honestly, I think sometimes the parents are more nervous than the kids... 😂
But yeah, chewing on the mirror handle is a classic move—pretty sure half our equipment doubles as teething toys at this point. Did your dentist have those flavored gloves? Some kids seem weirdly into them, like they're tasting candy or something. Always cracks me up.
Did your daughter warm up after a few visits, or is she still giving suspicious side-eyes?
Haha, flavored gloves...that's a new one for me! My dentist didn't have those, but honestly, sounds like a genius idea. My daughter was definitely in the suspicious side-eye camp for the first couple visits. She'd stare down the dentist like, "I don't know what you're planning, but I'm watching you." 😂 Thankfully, after a few rounds of stickers and princess toothbrushes, she's warmed up quite a bit. Now she actually asks when we're going back—kids are funny like that.
Weirdly enough, I remember my first dentist visit pretty clearly—I was maybe three or four, and the dentist had this giant stuffed dinosaur with oversized teeth. He'd brush the dinosaur's teeth first, then mine. Even at that age, I was skeptical...like, "Nice try, buddy, but I'm still onto you." 😂 But honestly, it did help ease the nerves a bit. Flavored gloves sound genius though—where were those when I was getting braces tightened every month? Could've used some grape-flavored distraction back then.
