Brighton and the Dentist

I'm not even sure how to tell the tale of Brighton's first trip to the Dentist. So crazy. In a good way.

We've had it on the calendar for about a month, and talked about it all-the-time. She seemed to be looking forward to it; even excited. (Side note: Dr. Hillinger was actually Braden's child hood dentist.)

Both Braden and I were going, leaving Boston with Nana. We wanted to be prepared for whatever melt down she might have.  We talked about how she might feel embarrassed with meeting the Dentist, but that he was nice and we should be brave.

In the waiting room she was an angel. She put together 2 puzzles with Braden and looked at a few books.  Then Dr. Hillinger came out. He said "hi!". Brighton.... said hi. Wait, what? She didn't run and hide? She didn't put her hands in fists and scream? Nope, she was smiling and giddy and happy. (Like I said, so crazy). Then he sat on the floor in front of her and explained that he was a doctor for her mouth. She actually listened and responded to things he said. Then they went on a tour of the entire office, letting her play with anything she wanted. Then it was time to sit in the big fancy chair. She turned it into a slide, to which he gladly let her slide for a few minutes. Then he started asking her how many feet she had, hands she had, fingers, knees, legs, ears, etc. until he got to her teeth. She opened wide, and let him check her teeth.

To lean the chair back he pretended her nose was the button to move the chair. She thought that was pretty awesome. She was stoked to use "dentist" toothpaste, and even more excited when he let her brush her own teeth for a minute.

But I would say her favorite part was Mr. Thristy. After he would suck the water out of her mouth Mr.  Thristy would say, "Thank you, thank you, very, very much!" (She said that for the rest of the evening).

Once the cleaning was done, he made her a balloon from one of his gloves and drew a face on it, and let her pick a prize from the treasure chest. She smiled ear to ear the entire time. And so did Braden and I.  I could NOT believe how well she did! She was literally a different child. I'm still confused.  We took her to Panda Express for dinner (her favorite) as a reward and while she was eating said, "Can we go back to the dentist? Right now!?

I am so happy it was such a great experience. I would highly recommend Dr. Hillinger to anyone looking for an awesome dentist for you and/or your kids.