"A smile can open a heart faster than a key can open a door." It's one of my favorite sayings. It's hard for me not to like someone who has a genuine, great smile on his or her face. It always sticks with me. My little guy, Brody, has a contagious grin that always lights up a room. That being said, Ted and I want to make sure Brody's pearly whites stay that way. Recently, we were ready to bring him on his first dental visit!

I wanted to make sure sitting in the dentist chair wasn't a scary experience for my toddler. So, I scheduled an appointment for myself a couple weeks prior to Brody's visit. I had him tag along and get a feel for the whole setting. (Sort of like a pre-game show before the big game!) The plan seemed to work. Brody asked questions and by the time we were in the car on the way to his visit, he seemed calm and ready. That is, until his name was called. Let me just say, I'm starting to understand why parents call this age the "trying threes!" Brody's freak out mode commenced. He was not about to sit in that dentist chair. I was starting to think that karma was kicking in a bit. My parents have often told me stories about a couple nightmare dental/doctor visits they had with me as a young child. Fortunately, our dental hygienist is a patient woman with kids of her own. Thanks to her and a stuffed dragon doll with teeth, Brody calmed down after just a few minutes of acting out. I sat him on my lap in the dentist chair and we were good to go for the rest of the visit. (Whew!) He started to follow directions and even let out some giggles during the cleaning and check with the dentist. The prize treasure chest at the end of the visit was also a big bonus for Brody.

After a bit of a rocky start, overall, I was pretty pleased with my little guy. I'm hoping he'll remember that the whole experience wasn't bad. After all, he'll be back in that chair in another six months. I would love to read some pointers and stories (good or bad) from other moms about dental visits with your kiddos. Drop me a line during your down time. As for me, Brody's teeth are looking great and this mom is all smiles!