My wife took the boys to their annual dentist appointment last week. Like everyone else in the world, they were nervous going in.

Our four year old decided to take a new approach to the situation, however. When he was sitting in the chair and the hygienist came in, he flashed her an ear-to-ear smile. “Oh, Hi! How are you? I’ve missed you so much!”

From what my wife said, it stopped the hygienist in her tracks. She smiled at the little guy and started chuckling. ”Well,” she answered. “Thank you. I’ve missed you too.”

And that was the start of a tears-free dentist appointment. And yes, I think I’m going to try that on my next dentist appointment.