Little Critter Visits the Dentist

Actually, Lyla did. But she's kind of a Little Critter, minus the fur. And we've been reading the dentist story for what must be a year, now? Yes, it was her 3-year check-up when the pediatrician said it was time to go to the dentist. It only took a year to get there!
With a little preparation (okay... a lot... because a year is a pretty long time!), thanks to Mercer Meyer and lots of realistic (hopefully) enthusiasm from her anti-dentite parents, Lyla's first trip to the dentist was a breeze. She did GREAT! She even commented later on about how FUN it was! Thanks, Dr. Lantzy!
What we learned from Dr. Lantzy, other than where Lyla's trouble spots are and how to best address them, was that she had no cavities! Her x-rays showed, though, that she may have an extra adult tooth. Weird, right? But I guess that happens... and I guess we'll see for sure when those teeth arrive. He said for now, we'd just ignore it. It could have been nothing...

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So, what you're saying, Dear Doctor, is that my daughter is either a mutant, or your x-ray machiney thing doesn't really work...?

Lyla loved going to the dentist... What a weirdo, right?

Watching the TV on the ceiling. Even if she wasn't already loving it, this would have made it all worth it!

We also learned that Lyla's bite is all kinds of crookedy. It's not too bad, now, but it will probably get to be pretty bad if she doesn't nip her finger-sucking habit in the bud soon. He actually called her out on her habit without any prior knowledge of it and then he recommended we buy Hoofs. Not from horses. At least I hope not. But it's a brand of that icky stuff one paints on one's nails to kick a nail-biting or thumb-sucking habit.

Well, I bought some. And Lyla was actually on board with having a reminder to help keep her fingers out. PLUS! She gets to wear NAIL POLISH! Lyla has only actually tried to put her fingers in her mouth twice today, and simply said, "Mom, I need a drink. My mouth tastes yucky." The real test comes at nighttime, when she wants to get all snuggly in her bed and soothe herself to sleep with her buddies, Pointer and RingMan.

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So it's been roughly two weeks since I began this post (and yes, that's about average for my posts), and we've had great success with the yucky nail polish. Lyla has just fallen asleep, in fact, without sucking on her fingers, and without any nail polish on (and she even knew that!). We're going to keep applying it every few days for the next few months, as recommended, just to help her continue her success. We're really proud of her, especially since going to sleep has been a challenge for her lately. It seems like she's unable to make the connection that she has trouble sleeping without the self-soothing of her fingers in her mouth, but she's had a really rough time falling and staying asleep. It is slowly improving, though, and at this point there is definitely no turning back.

We are so proud of you, Lyla!!!