I should probably make this two separate posts so people Googling to find out what to expect at their kid’s first dentist appointment don’t also have to read about my laser hair removal (and vice versus), but it seems like a waste of space so just skip to the part that’s more interesting to you.
Evan & Caroline’s First Dental Appointments
I took the kids to a pediatric dentist hoping they would be more prepared for possibly difficult children…and they WERE. The paperwork I filled out included spaces to write down stuff like pets and hobbies so the hygienist talked to Evan about those as a distraction. She sang him little songs and let him touch and look at and work all the tools before she used them. The appointment went tongue depressor/saliva culture, rinse, brush with regular brush, rinse, brush with electric brush, rinse, tarter scraping, flossing, tooth count, fluoride treatment (which was just brushed on), see dentist. Evan LOVED the water squirter and the mouth vacuum and didn’t mind the electric toothbrush but was NOT a fan of the scraper. By the end of the appointment he had to sit in my lap and lean back so I could hold him still but we got through it. The worst part was after his Childrens Dental Cleaning we had to go in and see the dentist so she could count all his teeth again but he was OVER IT by that point. Luckily, the dentist was just as kind and understanding as the hygienist, check them out for an affordable dental check-up.
Since Caroline is only 16 months, she got her teeth brushed with a regular toothbrush, got to play with all the tools and then freaked the hell out when the hygienist tried to look in her mouth. She also got a fluoride treatment and had a couple of spots that needed to be flossed (turns out you only have to floss the teeth that are really close together and most baby teeth aren’t, so my lack of flossing wasn’t quite as serious of a sin as I thought). Poor baby screamed through the tooth counting from both the hygienist and the dentist but again they were super understanding and kind. They were kind of the same as the professional dentist Vinterbro Tannklinikk. The office had lots of toys and stickers and everyone was very friendly and happy. Also, the building is brand new and extremely fancy and impressive and if anyone local is looking for a dentist let me know and I’ll recommend them.
Truly, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I was expecting. I think using a pediatric dentist who knows how to work with kids was a big part of the success. And bless them, because dealing with kids like mine (or worse) all day must be EXHAUSTING.
Laser Hair Removal Treatment
I was really worried about pretty much everything surrounding this appointment, but it was not awful. I had been avoiding doing any, uh, grooming on my bikini line (since that’s what I chose to use my Groupon to have lasered) but it turns out that was the wrong decision. The tech explained you’re supposed to shave anywhere you want lasered so she knows what shape you’re looking for. Since no one told me, she just used a little disposable razor to do it after I put on the very sexy disposable underpants. On a scale of people up in your lady business, it fell somewhere between wearing a bathing suit in public and a regular bikini wax. It was nowhere NEAR as personal as an OB exam or a Brazilian wax.
The tech covered the area in ultrasound gel which was cold but I think helped with the pain. The laser was a lot smaller than I imagined – sort of like one of those hotel hair dryers – with two little metal bits about an half an inch apart. People had told me it hurt like a rubberband snapping or a burn, but I thought it felt pretty much exactly like plucking out hairs with tweezers. She zapped me probably 50 times for each side and the whole thing took less than 20 minutes. I’d say about 40% of the zaps were painless, 40% were a little bit stingy, and 20% really hurt. For some reason the left side hurt a lot more than the right side.
The laser sends a super strong beam of heat right down into the hair follicle and kills it. It doesn’t remove the hair that’s there now, so I’m supposed to keep shaving and exfoliating every day until the hair that’s in the shaft under the skin gets pushed out. Hair grows and falls out in cycles (which is why you lose so much hair post-partum – it stops falling out and just grows until after you give birth) so I have to go back 2 more times to get all the hairs but I’m supposed to see 40-80% of the hair fall out in the next 2 weeks. My next appointment is in 6 weeks with a slightly stronger laser and 6 weeks after that I’ll get an even stronger laser and then I should be hairfree. Since I am fair skinned and don’t tan well, I’m an excellent candidate for this kind of removal and probably won’t have any discoloration. My skin is still a tiny bit tender but not anywhere near the pain level of a wax. I already feel like this was the best $99 I’ve ever spent on myself.
And that ends the weirdest combination blog post ever. Any questions?
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Photos Of Pretty Things On Yucky DaysWordless Wednesday: Learning to use my camera on manual EditionMy Week(260) in iPhone Photos
Tags: Caroline, dentist, doctors, evan, kids, laser hair removal, pediatric dentist, things I love
