{Those Pearly Whites}

Yesterday the girls experienced a milestone moment: their first teeth cleaning. Yes, Sasha should have had her teeth cleaned already since she's about to turn six in September and has already lost two teeth, but she was too afraid the first time I tried to have it done. So I made appointments for both the girls and myself and off we went to the dentist.

We waited for a bit in the back room until it was our turn, and I tried to get Sasha to agree to going first. Of course she wouldn't. She wanted to see someone else go first. Clara didn't want to, so that left me. It would have been fine, but Dixon got hungry minutes before the hygenist was ready for us, so he was eating when it was time to head to "the chair".

The hygenist, Mallory, is really nice; I believe this was the first time I've met her. She offered to take the girls to see the chair and the brushes, but they said no. Then Pap said he would go, too, and they happily went away to see what was in store for them.

So I finished feeding Dixon and walked down the hall to see what the girls were doing. This is what I saw:
Yep, that's Pap lying on the chair with Clara on top of him! There are definitely perks to having your grandfather for a dentist! Clara would have gladly stayed there for the entire cleaning, but Pap had others folks to take care of. I never in a million years would have imagined my dad doing this, but I suppose the grandkids have brought out a different side of him. I found the whole thing quite endearing.

Here they are counting Clara's teeth. Twenty!

Clara was soon nice and comfy in the chair and had no hesitations about having her teeth cleaned. She chose bubblegum flavored toothpaste and Mallory started polishing.

The light was bright for Clara so she tried to cover her eyes. Her teeth are perfect!

Pap came back to check Clara's bite and see if there were any problem spots and then it was Sasha's turn. She and Pap had a bit of a talk first. They counted her teeth, too.

Sasha got to wear these ultra-cool orange glasses to help block the light from her eyes.

She chose cookie dough flavored toothpaste, but halfway through the cleaning she said she didn't like it. Mallory offered her a new flavor, but I guess Sasha just wanted to get the job done because she declined. I was just thrilled that she opened wide and didn't fight the cleaning!

Mallory confirmed what we suspected: Sasha's top two teeth are wiggling and jiggling! By the time Kindergarten starts I bet she'll have a big gap up there! Otherwise, her teeth are perfect, too.

Now for the embarrassing part of the story. When Mallory got my chart she noticed that it had been some time since my last cleaning. I knew it had been awhile, but I'm still a bit shocked at just how long it had been. THREE YEARS! Yikes! That's just awful, especially since my dad is my dentist. I'm now committed to going every six months with the girls. OK, I'll be real. I'll make sure no more than a year goes by between cleanings.

We're all smiling white and bright tonight!