Dreading the Dentist...

My son has a dentist's appointment on Tuesday and he is excited. He absolutely loves going to the dentist and as a mom this makes me happy though I know the day will come when he will absolutely hate going.

I always get nervous when I take him. To me, the health of my kids' teeth is a direct reflection of how good of a mom I am. Teeth don't lie- if I don't brush the kids' teeth and let them indulge on sugary, sticky foods then I suck and their teeth will suck too.

In my house I let the kids brush their own teeth in the morning (my two year old daughter has to let me check her teeth when she is done) but when we are going somewhere I do the brushing just to make sure their breath doesn't smell like out laundry room trash can (the stinkiest trash can I have ever smelled). At night my husband or I will brush their teeth for them.

As far as food goes, my kids drink water (fluoridated) and milk a majority of the time and only have candy, fruit snacks and other sticky, sugary foods on special occasions. My daughter's downfall is raisins, which I know the dentist said aren't good for her teeth but when your kid is picky you need to get in a serving of fruits whenever you can. My son has been bugging me to buy gummy vitamins for him but there really is no way I am going to let him have something everyday that will stick to his teeth.

So, all of this and I still get scared that my little boy is going to the dentist. What if he has a cavity? That means I let him down by not helping him take care of his teeth properly and that he would have to get it filled. Getting a cavity filled at such a young age seems traumatic to me- I mean it's borderline traumatic to have one filled when your an adult (believe me, I know).

I am going to cross my fingers and hope that the tooth care skills I am teaching will be enough to ensure that my son has a healthy smile (and also that my daughter behaves while her brother is having his teeth cleaned- fat chance though). And once my son is done with his appointment and has his new toothpaste and toothbrush I can start thinking about my appointment the following month and all of the nights I was too tired to floss and brush my teeth. Do as I say, not as I do kids!