I'm Back, Doc Dentist!

Our dentist have a lot of books for the kids to read while waiting for their turn.
Maia was excited flipping through pages of Aladdin here.

Well Maia can now say the word dentist clearly. And we don't know how she ended up knowing we're really going to the dentist. I was a bit shocked when I asked her where we're going and she replied, "di ba Mommy kay doc dentist?" I was still expecting her to push the bookstore trip (we were supposed to go to MV Logos today, that floating bookstore, that is currently docked at Pier 15 in the Port Area in Manila) but we had to change plans last minute. We promised to take her to the bookstore Sunday though so this weekend will mostly be spent outside of the house. 

Digressing again.

Back at the dentist today we could tell how the little girl has grown since our last visit by the way she handled her time in the chair. Her attention span has now extended and having learned (almost perfected) the art of gargling recently she took the time to finish the entire glass of water. I think she just really wants to impress doc dentist. What I like about our doc dentist is her patience with kids and how she really takes her time to make sure Maia's teeth is thoroughly cleaned. I know because I watched her do it for almost 45mins. In between, she would stop to share tips on how to better care for the tot's milk teeth. I guess that's what sets pediatric dentists apart from regular dentists. We're proud to say that aside from some calcified plaque that took quite sometime for the doc to clean, Maia's oral health is still in perfect condition. And despite her losing the veneer from our last visit, doc didn't push to have it re-done anymore since the tooth seemed fine already and she said the last 2 we did somehow covered the 'cracks' in the tooth so with the fluoride treatment and the regular tooth cleaning that tooth is already saved from further deterioration.

Some things I learned from this recent visit --

1. Our 2nd and 3rd molars (grown around 6-7 and 11-12 years respectively) are very dependent on the placement/position of our milk teeth. When the milk teeth is not properly cared for, there's a big probability that those molars are going to come out in the wrong places (i.e. hello braces).

2. Genetics is still a factor when it comes to how our teeth are set in our jaw. Tibs and I have really crooked teeth so doc dentist was saying, Maia might need braces when she's older. But then again, it's not purely due to genetics too she says. Our diet is also a big contributing factor. So we should watch that too (especially when it came to eating food where we have to do a lot of hard biting action)

3. For toddlers/preschoolers like Maia, oral prophylaxis is very important since no matter how we make sure to brush at least 2x a day they're still very much prone to childhood gingivitis (mostly due to exposure to adults who have it) and usually that's where the problem starts. So the earlier you address that problem, the better.

Good thing I got to read this post from Manilamommy before our dental trip today because it helped me tremendously in how I conditioned Maia for this trip. I used to scare her with dentist trips or doctor trips each time I am having difficulty imposing my authority especially during brush time or meal time. But because of this post, I am now making her think doctors and dentists are our friends (which is really true). There was no sign of fear on Maia when we arrived at the dentist clinic this afternoon. She waited patiently and entertained herself with the books at the waiting area. When she heard her name being called, she was alert and didn't hesitate to open the door to the clinic and climbed the chair on her own. All I did was take a video of her and show her how wide her mouth should be opened but other than that I was useless in there. 

I was already (i think ha) in high school when I first visited a dentist and they always scared the hell out of me. So when I had a kid, I made pretty damn sure she is comfortable with dental visits. I think I can finally pat myself in the back here for a job well done.

Hello Doc Dentist!

We first brought Maia to a dental clinic when she was 15 months old. It was in a Pedia-dental Clinic called Little Ones Dental Clinic in Mall of Asia. That first visit was a very quite and calm one. She sat on my lap for a good 5 minutes before she cried. But no, she did not cry because she got scared of the dentist. She cried because her 5-min attention span was done and she needed to wiggle out of my arms.

On that first visit, the dentist did three things: Oral Exam, Oral Prophylaxis and Flouride Treatment. She seemed really well-trained with kids because she finished all 3 just as Maia's patience was waning. After the treatment, she spent another 10 minutes with us discussing the best strategies we could use to ensure that Maia's oral hygiene is in place. She also oriented us with the oral developments that will be happening with Maia in the future. It was an informative and helpful visit. I think that visit also instilled a very positive impression on Maia that preceded our succeeding trips to the dentist.

Here at the Little Ones Dental Clinic,
place is very kid friendly

We were told then that the Flouride Treatment would ideally have to be re-done after a year. But we decided not to come back to that clinic anymore because 1) it wasn't an accredited dentist on my company HMO and I wanted to maximize Maia's benefits on it 2) we thought it was quite overpriced since we paid a total of P2960 for those 3 simple procedures. 

I decided to look for a Medicard (the HMO I had at that time) accredited pedia-dentist but unfortunately could not find one that's near our area in Cavite. I decided to try the Dental Focus branch in SM Molino since the clinic looked child-friendly. So after 6 months, we had Maia's teeth cleaned again. The dentists were very gentle and there were no violent reactions from Maia while we were sitting on the dental chair. She was again very cooperative and she even got really excited when the dentist told her she can have the Dora toothbrush after the visit. What disappointed me though was this branch does not do flouride treatments on kids. I was referred to another branch in Festival Mall in Alabang. I decided I'll just look for a pedia-dentist for that particular treatment but we came back again to the same clinic after 6 months for another round of oral prophylaxis. 

Maia patiently waiting at Dental Focus

This month Maia is turning 33 months. She's again due for tooth cleaning and she badly needs to have that flouride treatment redone. I am also now very concerned with a chip on one of her front tooth and some of the white spots that are starting to show on some of her teeth. According to a dentist friend, these white spots are an indication that the tooth is on the onset of decay. Despite a rather good oral hygiene, the flouride-free toothpaste that we have been using since Maia's teeth started appearing just doesn't seem to be helping preserve her teeth. Good thing we were already weaned from the bottle so that sorts of lessens my worry of her ending up with totally decayed milk teeth before the permanent ones start showing up. 

With my concerns in mind, I decided to bring Maia to a pedia-dentist. Luckily, I chanced upon an accredited one that holds clinic in Bacoor which is just about 30mins away from our place. I immediately signed up for a Saturday appointment. The dentist is Dr. Thelma Dador-Ong and she practices alongside her daughter Ranee. Both seemed to really love kids and that’s a plus factor for us.

This recent visit is going to be Maia's 4th trip to the doctor but she has yet to experience having the dentist use a dental machine to perform a procedure on her. All 3 tooth cleaning were done manually because the dentist wanted to avoid scaring her (the sound of the machine motor might just do that). When we got to the clinic, the dentist was just finishing up on 2 patients. I came prepared; I brought some paper and crayons with me to distract the kid. The clinic had several books to entertain waiting kids as well and Maia wanted to read of all them! 

I was surprised she knew that this shape is called 
the CROSS!

From the waiting area, Maia could hear the machine motor and I think that really tickled her curiosity because when it was our turn she instantly sat on the dental chair. I didn’t have to force her to sit on it on her own. When the dentist turned the equipment on so she can clean her teeth, she patiently waited for the dentist to finish. When the dentist was done with the cleaning and the flouride treatment, she discussed the state of Maia's teeth. I was relieved to hear that we can still prevent the teeth from decaying, we just need to regularly have  fluoride applied on the teeth. We also need to gradually switch to flouride toothpaste. The chipped tooth had to be masked as well since it was already a ‘dead’ tooth and is more susceptible to decay. That was another 8-10min procedure and Maia again sat patiently through it. I was a very proud mommy!

My brave kid so patient while the dentist 
attends to her chipped front tooth.

I guess it did help a lot that from the onset all of our dental visits were pleasant and tantrum free. We were lucky to have come across dentists who were very patient with our little girl. We will most likely stick with Dr. Ong since she’s the nearest pedia-dentist that we can find and because we really had a nice experience with her. 


By the way, here is our current dentist's details:

Dr. Thelma Dador-Ong
Dental and Natural Health Clinic
Suite 212 Maraudi Bldg, Niog, Bacoor, Cavite
Clinic hours: M-Sat 9am-530pm
Tel Nos: 046 417 0041/09186018714
Best to call and make an appointment with the Nhel (Secretary)