A Trip to the Dentist

Today, we took a trip to the dentist.  

Now, I'll be honest, the mere words, taking a trip to the dentist, usually are enough to send straight panic to my heart.  Whereas growing up, I had an amazing dentist, since moving to Long Island, I have had a series of incredibly bad dentist experiences.  And when I say bad, I mean getting-the-wrong-side-of-my-mouth-numbed, being-chewed-out (no pun intended) about how-terrible-my-teeth-are-as-the-dentist-is-drilling-into-them-with-a-drill-bit-that-is-the-wrong-size bad (to name a few).  Needless to say, before our visit today, the mere thought of the dentist was one to get my anxiety rising.

However, today's trip to the dentist was a much different story.  This past year, I met a friend of a friend, named Melissa Lotardo.  I've had the privilege of getting to know her more throughout the year as well as photographing her beautiful children.  Her husband, Dr. Sal, runs a dental office called Bella Smiles that is located in Riverhead, New York.  This past summer, when we were in Puerto Rico, Jer was experiencing tremendous tooth pain.  The first thing we did when we got back was make an appointment to see Dr. Sal, who was a tremendous help and blessing as he worked to fix Jer's tooth.

Today we had appointments for cleanings and check-ups for Christian, Ellee and I.  The first thing that I noticed when I walked through the doors of Bella Smiles was how clean and calming everything was.  The waiting room was spotless, and as I was filling out my paperwork, the sweet receptionist handed us a remote so that I could put a show on for my kids.

Christian was first up for his cleaning and check-up.    

He sat so nice as Melissa cleaned his teeth.  She was so sweet and patient with him.  She was also incredibly informative, letting him know everything that she was doing so that he knew exactly what was going on.  She also gave him great tips on taking good care of his teeth.

Even our normally shy Ellee girl was completely at ease in the dentist chair.  She sat so sweetly as Melissa cleaned her teeth and wasn't fearful at all.  

Dr. Sal came in to do an exam for both of the kids.  He was thorough and just had such a great manner, when working with my kids.  

I'm very proud to say that both of our kids had perfect check ups with no cavities.  I'd like to think it's because we try to stay away from soda and too many sweets.  It could just be that they got really good teeth genes.  

For having no cavities, Ellee collected her share of "No Cavity" stickers.  Our sweet girl loves her stickers, if you couldn't tell.  Unfortunately I didn't get to get a sticker.  A small cavity kept me from the club, but considering that fact that it was small and caught early, I'm okay with that.  I got a complete set of X-rays and a thorough check-up and cleaning too, and it was incredibly therapeutic.  I received incredible treatment and was so thankful to finally have a great dentist experience to look back on. 

I was also very impressed by how thorough Melissa and Dr. Sal both were.  Christian got four of his molars sealed which should help to keep these teeth healthy and in good shape.  

Both of the kids picked up some great dental bling after their appointments.  In addition to the stickers, they proudly marched out with new toothbrushes, toothpaste and dental floss.  

All in all, it was a great trip to see Dr. Sal at Bella Smiles.  If you are looking for great care from a dentist who truly cares, I would highly recommend trying Bella Smiles.  Melissa gave me some great referral cards that entitle new patients an exam, regular cleaning and x-rays all for only $99.  If you are in the area and are interested in trying out a great dentist, please feel free to email me: lauraherr8@gmail.com and I can get you a referral card.