My daughter used to cry at the dentist. The Northgate team turned that around in one visit — she asks when she can go back.

My daughter’s first dentist visit at another practice ended in tears before we even got past the waiting room. I was dreading trying again, but Northgate’s pediatric team asked me to bring her in for a ‘meet and greet’ first — no treatment, just a look around and a ride in the chair.

By the actual appointment two weeks later, she already knew the hygienist’s name and asked to count her own teeth into the little mirror. It sounds small, but it completely changed how she thinks about going to the dentist.

She now asks when her next cleaning is. I did not think I would ever be writing that sentence.