"I don't have bad teeth" - Emilio

We went to the Children's Dentist today because Emilio hasn't been yet (so many transitions lately and so many mixed opinions over when to take a child for the first time) and he also has some dark spots in his teeth we are concerned about. Emilio somehow had an awful feeling about going (we haven't really said anything negative about the dentist) and repeated to me, "I don't want to go to the dentist, they are bad, I don't have bad teeth." Well, this office was so cute. They had this cute little clubhouse to play in, lots of nice toys, and Nintendo which Emilio pretended to play. That started changing his opinion about our visit. Gabi loved playing as well. We were called back very soon after arriving and the hyginist was so kind and good with kids. She showed Emilio all of her special tools...the toothbrush tickler, the water gone, the water sucker, etc. She would show him on his hands first and then his mouth. Emilio liked what he saw and the chair that moves up and down, but he didn't like laying back. The dentist came in and made a balloon dog for Emilio as well and was super friendly. He looked in his mouth to count his teeth and was able to tell us that he has 4 CAVITIES! I couldn't believe it. I don't let my kids have juice (except for at friends' b-day parties), we brush their teeth everyday, they didn't have bottles or walk around with sippy cups and they eat so healthy. The Dr. told me that it is most likely hereditary (John is prone to cavities because of deep grooves in his teeth). Anyway, once Emilio is on our insurance he will have to have dental surgery to take care of the cavities. The Dr. said they aren't deep yet and to use this special flouride each night to keep them from getting progressively worse. He also showed me a special position to hold Gabi while brushing her teeth. We are taking Emilio back in 3 months to officially get a cleaning and a flouride treatment (paid out of pocket) and then hopefully he'll be covered in January and be able to get the surgery. It scares me to think they will be putting my then 3 year old under anestetics! I don't like to think about it.

Poor Boo Boo!