Zoe's First Trip to the Dentist

Zoe had her very first check-up at the dentist last week!

Mike and I had our semi-annual check-ups two weeks prior and we took Zoe with us so she could get an idea of what it would be like for her. I think it helped her to not freak out too much when her time came. Here is how it all went down:

At first she would only sit in this chair and made me sit on the dentist chair.

Then she got curious and started to play near the chair.

And then she finally sat on it. But she wouldn't ever scoot back into it.

When the dentist finally came in, Zoe jumped off the chair and clung to me. So I held her in my lap, facing towards me, and leaned her back to rest her head on the dentist's knee. She cried. But that made it easier for the dentist because her mouth was open. He was really good and did a thorough but quick inspection of her teeth. I got nervous when Zoe started to gag, hoping my child wasn't going to be the one to spew all over the dentist that day...she didn't. Whew.

The dentist said that the way Zoe's teeth are in her mouth (big, buck teeth...incase you haven't noticed) are because of the shape of her mouth. It isn't anything that simple braces can fix when she gets older. He didn't get into detail (that's the orthodontist's job) but pretty much we just need to wait a few more years to see how much more her mouth will grow into her teeth and to see if her jaw grows out any more before we start trying to correct anything. We're fine with that. I explained to her that she has Russell-Silver Syndrome and that other kids with the disorder have mouths just like Zoe. And I told him that her jaw has grown in quite a bit compared to how much it was pushed back when she was a new born. So we're good with waiting. Our only concern is that Zoe has a little bit of difficulty biting her food because she can't get a good clamp down. But she's managing and it doesn't seem to bother her too much.

The dentist also noticed a little bit of inflammation on her gums so he suggested having Zoe start flossing. What?! How do you get a 2 year old to floss? Well, it turns out that there are these nifty flossers for little kids that Zoe loves. We got princess ones and Zoe is already a pro at it.