The Dentist

All four kids had their dental check-ups this past week.  I dread this appt. every 6 months.  It's a lot of work to take 4 kids to the dentist.  It's even harder when one of them has extreme anxiety.  Of course, that would be Rapunzel.  Her overall anxiety has actually gotten MUCH better (which I attribute to her being off of steroids).  But she still has some pretty good anxiety when it comes to the dentist.  She had yet to allow them to take x-rays of her.  She would panic and completely freak out, and they'd say, "We can just try to get them next time."  But this time, Rapunzel did SO GOOD during the x-rays.  She sat still, opened and closed her mouth when asked, and even though she started to gag a little during one part, she was a trooper and got all of her x-rays done beautifully!  I was soooo proud of her!  When it was her turn to get in the exam chair and get her teeth cleaned, she lost it.  The moment her head hit the headrest, she jumped up screaming and crying.  I don't know what happened.  She'd done so good.  But she was NOT having any of this anymore.  The dentist came over and tried talking to her, but she was over it.  Once her switch is flipped, there's no reasoning with her.  They agreed to skip the exam, again.  But, the dentist had to go over her x-rays with me.  She has a cavity. :(  That's the first cavity of any of my kids.  And it's a big one.  It's on one of her molars, and it's very close to the nerve.  The dentist said she was surprised that the tooth wasn't bothering Rapunzel, but that it most likely would soon if left alone.  Who knows how long she's had it since this was the first time she'd had an x-ray and has never let the dentist look into her mouth.  So she needs a "mini root canal" and a crown on the tooth, since she won't lose it for several more years.  She'll obviously have to be knocked out for them to do it, since she won't even let anyone come near her mouth otherwise.  So we now have an appt. in 2 weeks to get that done.  I'm a little nervous about it.  The last time she went under anesthesia was when she had an endoscopy, and that was torture for my mama heart.  Watching her fight, screaming and crying for me as they put her under was one of the hardest things I've ever witnessed.  I have a feeling that this will be a similar experience.  But I'm prepared to give her tons of tlc, hugs, and snuggles that day!