los dientes

In preparation for Zuzu's first trip to the dentist, we talked about going to the dentist a lot. We practiced opening wide at home, took turns peeking in each other's mouth, and hyped up brushing (not her favorite thing to do).


I warned Dr. Elliott's office that it could be tough: a highly teary visit to the peds clinic once prompted a physician to ask if she'd ever had a traumatic experience at a doctor's office. Zuzu doesn't seem to like people in masks, exam gloves, or lab coats. No sooner were we in the office door than she began asking about the "speshul ice cweam" casually mentioned in the parking lot (promise, this is the first time we've bribed her). Then she was concerned that the dentist would be a rabbit since that's what one of the framed cartoons in the waiting room showed (certainly confusing to a toddler), plus I had to explain that unlike the half-dressed rabbit which she duly noted, Dr. Elliott would be wearing pants. Thankfully the waiting room was empty during that conversation.

She and her dolly were really patient through the whole visit. She pushed the buttons to make the chair move and sat on my lap for the exam:



She got a cool new toddler toothbrush which she loves to use:


She gave the hygienist a five:
And then picked out these sweet sunglasses from the treasure chest (Dr. Elliott uses bribes too):

And then we went to the mall for ice cream. She was HAAAAPPPPY!