A trip to the dentist

It’s the Easter holidays and when better to do things like taking a trip to the dentist ahead of the coming sugar splurge?

I’d booked the dentist appointment for late afternoon to account for teenagers. It can take until the end of the day for them to get dressed during the holidays. In the event daughter, three and only son were up early. Daughter three had had lunch by 11am. Only son protested strongly about this. He is going through a very rules-based phase and lunch at 11am is very much not in the rulebook. Daughter three replied that she was on a growth spurt and trying to gain weight.

By midday daughter three had completely cleaned her room in a bid to get pocket money. Soon after she complained of boredom. There followed a low-level war over the remote control which resulted in the tv being switched off. I suggested reading for 20-30 minutes. Only son got out the oven timer and read for precisely 30 minutes. Daughter three retired to her room in protest. Daughter one had been at work since around 6.30am. Daughter two didn’t stir until around 1pm and reached instantly for the chemistry revision books.

Several hours of “getting dressed” and vegan cookery passed. By 3.30, the time appointed for leaving, no-one was ready. Only son, who had brushed his teeth about five times during the day, had begun a Scrabble game, daughter three had started doing painting and daughter two was still cooking. En route she proceeded to down a mushroom pasty she had created. “What about your teeth?” I inquired. She produced mouthwash and dental floss with a flourish. I looked in the back – only son was flossing wildly. His sisters had informed him that his unhealthy [non-vegan] diet and his penchant for Weetos would spell almost certain failure at the dentist.

The road to the dentist was closed so we had to find a way round it. Everyone swigged some mouthwash for luck and we headed in. Only son went first. He had to have an x-ray because a baby tooth was wobbling and there was no discernable tooth coming up behind it. Would he need a fake tooth to fill the gap? Only son, lying back in his dental glasses, looked very perturbed. It turned out his adult tooth was in hiding and all was well. He got a sticker then proceeded to become very chatty with the dentist, giving away all the family secrets. “We brought mouthwash in the car,” he began.

Daughter three went next and we ended on a high with health guru daughter two. “We’re going to Tesco after this to get Cookie Crisp,” said only son as we left.

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