dentist time

Ugh, the dentist. Last year I had a tooth that needed to come out but wouldn't after 2 hours there was still roots in there and the dentist had to just stitch my mouth up and tell me I'd need surgery (which I chickened out of so if I end up in lots of pain it will be my fault) So I have been putting off and putting off taking the girls even though Crystal has quite bad teeth - really crowded, she'll be a braces kid before too long. Indigo has always had lovely teeth, straight and white and hole free, I wouldn't let her brush her own teeth until she turned 7, as recommended by the dentist, so she has fabulous teeth. The thing that spurred me out of my reluctance to take them was when we were in the pool one day, laughing and to my horror I saw Indigo had a black spot on two of her teeth, a few back from her front. Then I remembered how she'd always get food stuck between those teeth. And how I wouldn't know now if she still did because she's been brushing her own teeth for the last 2 1/2 years. Whoops. So off we went, to the public dentist that we hadn't used before and I must say, really un child friendly! Each girl had a separate dentist, both female (I thought that was cool!) but neither really seemed to know how to calm a frightened child. Crystal went first, and she hadn't been frightened going in, she was bounding to get in there! This is the same child who when she needed a needle once asked for another one in her other arm. Weirdo. But she needed a hole in her baby tooth filled :( and cried when she had the needle. Indigo on the other hand was TERRIFIED and hated the whole ordeal, poor baby needed a filling but to reach the tooth the tooth next to it, which was wobbly, needed to come out. Not nice. It really highlighted the difference between the two girls, Crystal, although 3 years younger than Indigo was stoic and brave. Indigo at 9 was hysterical. It took every inch of self control for me not to say "Why can't you be more like your little sister? She didn't throw a massive tantrum and refuse to open her mouth!" But she's not her little sister, she's Indigo, and a true Indigo child in her temperament. I was scared when I went to the dentist. She was scared. I don't want to teach her that when she's scared she has to lie there and take it. She can scream and cry if she wants. The funniest moment was when the dentist put her tooth in a little bag and said "The tooth fairy will be happy to have this tooth" and Indigo shouted "You're a liar! There's no such thing as the tooth fairy!" She hasn't forgiven me yet for laughing at her.