1st Dentist Visit

I finally did it - I took my son to the dentist. Still can't believe that some stranger (aka someone other than me or my mom) cleaned his teeth. But from MUCH experience, having a dental professional parent clean their own kids' teeth is not a good idea. They act out the entire time, etc. I asked Ashley from my old office where I should go. After looking up the office on the website, calling our insurance and verifying that the out-of-network codes were covered at 100%, we decided to go to Dr. Rita Cammarata. I was very impressed, and so was Justin.


They had TVs everywhere that played Toy Story. He literally was watching the show the entire time. They gave him a nametag and took his photo. We then waited in a toy/play area until the hygienist came and got us.

The light had a mirror on it so that Justin could watch himself. I'm sure the hygienist loved that I was sitting there with my camera and throwing dental jargon at her. But I couldn't dumb it down and pretend I didn't know what she was doing, could I?

She then told me she was 9 months prego and about to deliver any day. That's the thing with scrubs - they all fit so loose that you never can tell. It brought back memories of being big and round and having to basically lay myself on top of my patient to clean my teeth. I had so much sympathy that I wanted to finish her schedule for her.

It all was such a fresh breath of memories being there. I told her that I used to work pedo once a week. I watched them use Dentrix, the same computer program I was used to, to chart everything. I wanted to put a mask, a pair of gloves, and dive right in.

I was chatting with the dentist while she was checking Justin's bite, decay (no cavities, yea!), and anything else abnormal. She realized I was a hygienist that had experience in pedo and within seconds was telling me that they had an opening once a week all summer long for the maternity leave that Justin's hygienist was about to take. I laughed and told her I didn't have childcare, but thanks for the offer. It's nice to know that hygienists are still in demand these days in case I ever get an inkling to go back to work again....