Thursday, September 20, 2007
Dentist Trouble
A couple weeks ago Leah was complaining that her tooth hurt, sure enough there was a cavity. I took her to the dentist and we had trouble getting her to take an x-ray. The Dr told us that he may have to send her to Kelowna (pediatric dentist) depending on how bad the cavity is, but he would try first. We went back today and Leah walked in great, was super excited to see everyone, allowed them to put a little freezing gel on her gums and then started FREAKING out when he tried to freeze her gum! She wasn't just crying, she was sobbing and struggling to breath! I tried to calm her down, but by that point even the dentist had sided with her and decided it would be better to send her to Kelowna where they could give her a mild sedative and possibly knock her out if they have too! I can't believe all this trouble over a little cavity, in no way do I want her to suffer, but I am really struggling where the line is between sucking it up and holding her down, to sending her to someone else. I really felt like if the dentist would have been a little firmer and if they would have let me calm her down she would have been fine. I understand the fact that it may traumatize her, but its gonna happen sooner or later and Leah has the attitude where she fights fights fights and then once it actually happens she will laugh and think it was not too bad. I really do think she needs to learn that it will only hurt for a minute and then it will be fine, but she may be our princess!!
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3 comments:
sorry, totally do not see your reasoning. it is not really the job of the dentist to be firm with other peoples children. I think he did the correct thing.
Thanks for the comment. How then do you propose I could change my reasoning? Or how should I have dealt with the situation? I would love to get another viwe point and would relaly appreciate your input! :)
My set of baby teeth were terrible; I had a whole mouthful of cavities by the time I was 5; when I went to the regular dentist, I (apparently) would not even open my mouth, not even for a bribe (a doll I wanted from the toy store). So, off to the university I went, to be put under. I vaguely remember the experience; it wasn't scary. The happy ending to the story is that my permanent teeth are awesome (inherited from the other side of my family), and I have only had one cavity ever (when I was around 12).
I think you did the right thing. You didn't need to do anything differently.
I guess the dentist wasn't firm with Leah because it's not his job to discipline, plus, he doesn't know her, so he didn't know that she might eventually calm down. I don't know a tonne about dentistry, but I'm guessing Leah would need to be quite still and reliable, so that's probably why he didn't really want to try.
So, now you're off to Kelowna; don't have any regrets. I would totally be like you, and want to avoid the sedative, but if you're looking for reasons to feel better about it, remember this:
-there is a reason there are paediatric dentists; because this happens quite frequently
-a sedative one time won't hurt her; some kids need them quite frequently for tests and stuff (like MRI's, etc.)
-a sedative will be better in the long run because the dentist will be able to work more quickly & accurately
-Leah won't hate the dentist 200% after this (only 100%)
-you might be pretty sure Leah would have eventually calmed down, but perhaps she wanted to obey, but that it was totally out of her control (she's just a little person, and not totally reasonable and in control yet!)
So, there are some reasons to talk yourself into it. But, you're her mom, so you know best. Good luck!
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