THE DENTIST

A few weeks ago Los Angeles was hit by a “massive storm.” It rained for six straight days. The damage was catastrophic – one of my lawn chairs fell over from the wind and I was forced to drive around a fallen palm frond. But seriously, they actually shut down my daughter’s preschool early with the excuse that, “it might rain more this afternoon.” Being from Boston where they won’t close the schools even in a blizzard, this irritated me to no end…until I realized I had actually become one of these California wusses.

Arden had a dentist appointment scheduled smack dab in the middle of Rain Week and I actually contemplated cancelling because I didn’t want to drag two kids through the rain, the whole half-block from the underground parking garage to the dentist’s office.  One might think that my ulterior motive for cancelling might have to do with visiting the dentist itself since kids hate going to the doctor or the dentist and I didn’t want the extra hassle. But the truth is I’m just a wuss. Arden actually LOVES going to the dentist.

The interesting thing about Arden’s dentist is that you would never think when you walk in the door that it’s a kid friendly place. There’s no colorful mural on the wall with clowns flossing or cartoon teeth with smiley faces on them. It’s just a straight-up, albeit modern-looking, dentist’s office in the heart of Beverly Hills. And I actually found it by calling 1-800-DENTIST after my own dentist didn’t have a recommendation for me. And to be honest I was a little surprised the first time we walked in there and I didn’t see a clown mural. I thought the dental hotline had made a mistake, but I quickly realized the mural and the toys are just a gimmick to make kids think they’re in a safe and fun environment. But kids are smarter than that. You start unceremoniously jamming stuff in their mouth they’re not gonna wanna come back, even if Spongebob himself was scheduled to do the cleaning. So why does Arden like going to the dentist so much?

I think there are two reasons. First, we started her out early, before she started to develop any kind of fears (real or of the “I want to avoid going to bed” variety) – when she actually considered a giant metal hook in her mouth fun. Second, I think it’s because the staff at Arden’s dental office know kids are smart and instead of tricking them into thinking they’re in a fun place, they actually made her feel comfortable.

The first time I took Arden to the dentist she was about two-years-old and her dentist, Dr. Do (not to be confused with the 80’s video game Mr. Do!), told me that the goal of the first appointment was just to try and get Arden comfortable enough to get in the chair and maybe if we’re lucky show her some of the instruments. She wanted to make Arden’s first visit a positive experience. Dr. Do subscribes to a very simple philosophy when she’s dealing with kids. “Show. Tell. Do.”  She shows them the instruments. Tells them what they do. And if the child is ready, she uses them or…do-s them. It seems simple enough and I wish my own pediatric dentist had used this approach on me. The only thing I remember from my early visits to the dentist is being terrified of the clown on the wall (but that could have do with seeing Poltergeist when I was 9), but maybe if someone explained things to me, like Dr. Do did with Arden, I’d have a healthier attitude towards the dentist today. Enough about me.

On Arden’s first visit, my fearless little friend not only got in the dental chair herself, but she wanted to ride it up and down and not only did she get to meet the equipment like Mr. Bumpy (the electric toothbrush) and Mr. Thirsty (the water suction gizmo), but she actually let Dr. Do clean her teeth. She was still a little young for the fluoride treatment or what Dr. Do likes to call, “Vitamins for your teeth” to prevent them from getting “Sugar Bugs” (cavities.) Dr. Do was great with Arden and the whole staff praised Arden for how brave she was. Of course Arden couldn’t understand why someone would need to be brave to see the dentist since she was having a blast and got to take home a light-up toothbrush. In fact when we left the office Arden turned to me and said, “When can we go back to the dentist, Daddy?” Any time she wants, even when it rains.


If you’re in the Los Angeles area and you’re looking for a dentist for your kids or yourself, I highly recommend Dr. LanVi Do and her wonderful staff. For more information on Dr. Do and her practice you can visit her website at www.canoncosmeticdental.com


Originally posted on Parents Ask on 2/10/10