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With all of Toe's medical appointments, we have not managed to get him to the dentist. I have felt guilt about it, but not enough guilt to force me to do anything. There has not been a huge pressing need to get me motivated: the kid brushes and has had no pain or visible cavities. I finally broke down and made the appointment and last week, Toe had his first dental visit.

The night before, he became a little worried. I told him that after all of his doctor appointments, hospital stays, and PICC line insertions, a dental cleaning would be a piece of cake. He didn't believe me. We negotiated taking a washable stuffed animal (he is not allowed to take stuffed animals most places because they are hard to clean and harbor germs). J and I both went for moral support.

Ms. J, our dental hygienist was fantastic. She explained things as she went, had Toe hold the saliva vacuum (I'm sure there's a technical term for this.. Ms. J called it "Mr. Slurpy"), stopped as he had questions or wanted to talk. It was an easy and mellow first experience. Right after they started, Toe handed the stuffed animal over to Jason so he could more fully participate in the cleaning. The kid has no cavities and the mark he has on his upper front tooth is from a mouth trauma he had when he still had his baby teeth (when they mentioned that, we both immediately identified the event in question).

Positive experience. Prize box (I had forgotten about the prize box at the dentist!). Clean, healthy teeth and gums. Check. Now we move on to another CF clinic visit next week....