Dentist

I read somewhere (not only once) that it's good to make a habit from young to start going to the dentist, so that they won't be so scared when the doctor has to start cleaning their teeth.

Here we were at Smile Inc. in Forum Mall this afternoon.

[Picture: Caden was waiting for his name to be called]

I was very surprise when I found out that the doctor has a TV on top of the ceiling (the idea is for the patients to enjoy a movie while the doctor is doing something to our teeth). He asked me to lay down with Caden, turn a cartoon movie for him and asked Caden to open up his mouth.

and..

of course it didn't work! Caden would not fall into that trap!! He is way too clever for it! ^_^

Anyway, the doctor managed to glance at his teeth for a few seconds. He said the gums are a bit red -- maybe he is teething or it was from the previous gum infection. But overall, teeth look very healthy.

The doctor told me to brush Caden's teeth as often as possible -- "... after every meal is the best", he said.

I was laughing when he said that. I am actually having a hard time telling Caden (and my nanny, whom I know is often brushing Caden's teeth for once a day only, despite of my effort telling her to brush it twice ) to brush his teeth twice a day.

I also told the doctor that since Caden knew how to grip a toothbrush, he would not let us brush it for him. But as the doctor suspected, young kids, would only play with the toothbrush, bite it, lick it, etc... other than really brushing.

Caden would immediately stop brushing his teeth when we try to help him. [We have tried this a lot of time]

Then, the doctor gave us some useful tips for mom's whose kids are very independent in brushing their teeth, such as, to watch their diet. As much as possible, give sweeter stuffs (this include fruits that taste sweet) first, then followed by the main course. The idea is to wash down the sugar from holding between the teeth which can cause plaque.

Milk, yogurt and cheese are actually okay. Very interesting! I thought yogurt are sweet stuff. But the doctor said, it's not as bad as fruits and is considered okay.

He told me to come again when Caden is 2 years old. hm...I wonder if he remembers that he ever went to a dentist before by then. It was a very short meeting. 10 minutes at the most. hehe...