Visits to the dentist have almost always been a tough subject in our house. My son has the most amazing memory which is a good and bad thing. He remembers the first time we took him to the doctor, the first time he got a shot, and the first time he had surgery. Which is terrible. Our usual dentist office has a super clean and a doctors office feel which terrified him. We tried a few basic cleanings but were eventually referred to a pediatric dentist. I was a little skeptical but decided to give it a go. I knew he had at least one cavity that needed to be filled, but there was no way they could even get a tiny peek inside his mouth! That’s when I found Mountain View Pediatric Dentistry.
When I first walked into the office I was greeted by the most friendly and sincere staff. I instantly felt that these people had my son’s best interests at heart and were there to help me make this process as easy as possible. Which isn’t really easy. I’m one of those spastic moms that is constantly asking a million questions and making sure that my kid is getting the best care. They were able to put my concerns to rest with detailed answers which was the first huge relief. I was also super glad for the toy area that kept my son entertained during the check in process. Filling out paperwork takes my attention away from him which normally makes him need me even more. The movie, fish tank, and block set helped time fly by for the little guy.
Before we knew it we were greeted with his hygienist, Ashley. I let her know he was a little unsure and so did he. When she asked if he was ready to check on all of his tiny teeth he quickly replied with a “NO WAY.” She was incredibly patient and talked him into at least snapping a few pictures of his chompers.
I was amazed at this girls patience. My child was not very cooperative and flat out refused to put the x-ray gun close to his face. She must have talked to him for a good twenty minutes about the equipment and all of the fun things they would get to see with the pictures.
Once we got the first one taken he was on board and excited to look at each picture. She pointed out different fun facts about baby teeth and made sure to show him all of his big boy teeth that are growing underneath and should be making an appearance in the next few years.
Next was the actual cleaning. It was almost like we started from square one. He immediately started to cry and was so nervous. Ashley never lost her cool. Not even for one second. She pulled out each of the tools and walked my little guy through the function of each one. She even let him squirt a little water across the room which immediately had him giggling.
The next thing I knew she was well on her way to brushing and flossing. She even got him to smile once or twice! My nerves were calming down and I was actually starting to enjoy the experience, but most importantly… So was Dax! The dentist popped in and asked for a big giant lion smile. He took a glance at the x-rays and went through a few options for getting rid of all of those cavity bugs. While that was going on the hygienist snuck Dax away to grab a few prizes for being so good (and maybe bribe him up for the next time) and loaded him up with a new tooth brush, water bottle, brush timer, and other fun knick-knacks.
Walking out the door my little guy was just gushing about how much fun he had. He told me that she gave him some rules to follow and that he needs to brush his teeth every single day and insisted we head straight to the store to buy some little kid floss. I have never seen him this excited about taking care of his teeth! There is no way I could express just how much I am in love with Mountain View Pediatric Dental. I came into their office with a horrible attitude but was won over with their charm, patience, and amazing personalities. Working with kids in this type of situation cannot be easy. They truly went above and beyond to make sure that my son felt comfortable and left with a refreshed attitude about HIS dentist!