Sugar Bugs

We ran out the door 5 minutes late, as usual. Noah asking, "Are we late again Mommy?" Yep, we were. His dentist appointment was at 9. It was already 8:50 and I couldn't remember how to get to the office. Thankfully, we found it and arrived only 5 minutes late. Our frantic rush to the office distracted Noah from the purpose of our appointment. A routine cleaning. Our last appointment 6 months ago was to meet the dentist, count teeth and to check his bite. Since Noah worries, I talked to him about what we were doing ahead of time. He was completely prepared for the nice "blond lady" to clean his teeth. We sat comfortably chatting throughout the cleaning; Noah was a perfect angel, doing exactly what the hygienist asked. All done. Great. Now we just had to wait on the dentist-Dr. Amy.

It never occurred to me that Noah might have a "sugar bug" so when Dr. Amy said he had TWO sugar bugs, I didn't know what in the hell she was talking about. To clarify, sugar bug is the child friendly description of a cavity. I nearly fell off the edge of the exam table. He has two freaking cavities at age 3? I swear we are vigilant about brushing. Twice a day everyday-using the eeh and ahh method (eeh is with the teeth together and ahh is with the teeth apart). She asked if Noah eats a lot of candy or sticky gooey sugary substances. Nope, he doesn't even like chocolate. The wheels start turning...maybe it's all the gum Danny gives him (sure blame the daddy since he wasn't there), or the cupcakes that I am constantly bringing into the house???

side note: I am addicted to cupcakes. Seriously- love them and have some variety weekly.

Dr. Amy said that his molars are deeply grooved, and it might just be that we aren't getting food out of the the center grooves. Regardless of why he has the sugar bugs, Noah now needed to have TWO cavities filled. The receptionist said she could work us in at 2 pm the same day. So, now I had to prepare him for laughing gas, a shot in the gums (maybe two), and drilling in his mouth.

When we arrived back in the office at two, the receptionist said that they prefer to bring the kids back alone, because they tend to act up more when the parents are back there. Then she told me that if he doesn't do well with the laughing gas, they might need to sedate him. They called his name and he looked at me and said "It's our turn now mommy." I walk him to the door and the dental assistant said "Noah, Mommy is going to wait right here for you." He turned to me with the most frightened eyes and began rapidly shaking his head no. He couldn't even talk because he was so scared. Tears welled up in his huge eyes, and for a moment I felt like I might just pick him up and run out of the office. Instead, I politely informed the assistant that I would be accompanying him to the room, but assured her that I would not interfere. She agreed.

You'll never believe the rest of this story, but I swear it's true. My Noah was AMAZING. And, in fairness, so were Stephanie (the assistant) and Dr. Amy. He never moved, did everything they told him to do, and didn't cry a single tear. His right molar needed a filling, but the left was so small that they were able to use a sealant. When Dr. Amy was finished, she told me that I should be very proud of my big boy, because most 3 year olds do require sedation.

Noah told his Daddy and Addie all about sugar bugs that night and reminded us that Addie has teeth too and we have to brush her teeth to keep the sugar bugs away.

What an awesome kid.