Wesley's Trip to the Dentist

We are very lucky that Wesley only has 2 very minor, very fixable issues as a result of his early arrival:
1.) He has a speech delay - not in his comprehension/language, but in his articulation of sounds.
~ and ~
2.) He has very little enamel spread sporadically throughout his mouth, resulting in decay/cavities of his molars... regardless of how often/well we brush and floss.

Today was his second of four visits to repair and fix all of his teeth. Our current dentist repairs one tooth at a time, using nitrous oxide. During our consult about the repair, we were very concerned that Wesley would NOT stay still. They told us that there is the option of a papoose should that happen, but they rarely use that. And should that not work, the child would be referred out to a dentist that uses anesthesia/sedation. When Hannah had her teeth repaired (she also has very little enamel most likely because she was born at 35wks), she was given a "cocktail" of meds that made her pass out. I carried her to a room where she was placed on the papoose board with monitors and given nitrous oxide. During this single visit, the dentist repaired all of her issues. It was nice to have it done at one time, but it was also VERY nerve wracking experience.

Wesley's 'elephant nose' He LOVES it!

So, when it came time for our very first visit, I was expecting it to be a complete disaster. I was betting on the fact that Wesley would wind up in the papoose (for safety reasons only) and, most likely, being referred out. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect his to do great, but he did! During the shots he did not even flinch - I don't even think he knew that something was going on! About halfway through, she turned off the nitrous because he was acting as if he might throw up. From this point on, he became a bit antsy and fussy, and by the time she was finished, he was inconsolable and remained that was for almost 2 hours - it absolutely broke my heart and made me want to cancel all of the remaining appointments.....

Fast forward to today. Having done this before, he knew what was going to happen. This had me very anxious as I knew today could go either way, but once again, my wee man proved me wrong! This time, he was a little more fussy throughout the entire time, but was still awesome. The dentist turned off the nitrous a few minutes before she was through and, once again, he became a bit antsy and fussy until all was done. But, unlike last time, once I held him, he was done fussing and walked out on his own 2 feet - drooling and smiling!

She is amazing!

I am super impressed with not only our youngest, but the dentist. From the time we left the house to the time we pulled back into the driveway was about 45min! Her portion - from getting into the procedure chair to leaving was a whopping 9min - I timed it!



Only 2 more to go, and I am sure they will be just as good as the first 2!