Petey's root canals

[lizzybennet]

Pete and I had a horrendous experience at the dentist today. That dentist completely fooled me. She had me convinced that she could handle Petey. I should have known better. I know my own child and I shouldn’t have let this happen.

Let me also state, before I begin the story, that I’ve never had a root canal myself. I didn’t really know what to expect or what Petey was going through. Certainly I’ve heard stories about how awful they are.

Dr. T is very young. She looks like she graduated from college last month and the office was opened last week. She’s blonde and skinny and usually has a big smile on her face. She’s fully confident in her abilities and easily dismissed my concerns. I told her that Pete had never had dental work done awake before. In the past, his dentists have opted to fully sedate him. I told this to Dr. T and she brushed that idea aside, saying that she was sure that as a 6 year old he’d be fully able to handle it (with the help of laughing gas.) Ha! And again I say, HA!

Dr. T has many techniques that she uses to try and make the procedures more kid-friendly. For example: the drill is called Mr. Tickles. She calls the needle her magic fingernail. They told Petey they were going to “paint” his teeth (put in the fillings) with sliver stars. Petey spoke up at this point and said “I have a question. How is painting my teeth going to fix the problem?” Lol, that caught them off guard ☺ He’s not an idiot. The laughing gas mask was called a Darth Vader mask, even though it was bright orange (and smelled like orange). He didn’t use it very well. He just wouldn’t really breath through his nose and he never actually seemed to space out. I think he was fully alert during the whole thing.

It went ok for most of the time. He had a hard time keeping his tongue out of the way and kept exploring what she was doing. About half way through he started wiggling around like crazy and saying that he had to go to the bathroom. This seemed to rattle her. She said she’s never had anyone have to get up in the middle of a procedure before. I said “I guess there’s a first time for everything.” He had no problem walking to the bathroom and back, which makes me also suspect that he wasn’t getting any help from the laughing gas.

He got settled back into the dental chair and shortly started complaining of pain so she gave him another shot of Novocain. She removed the nerves from both teeth and we were rounding towards the end of the procedure. He just couldn’t hold still much longer. He’d been in the chair for close to an hour by this point (after it was over, he told me it felt more like 4 hours.) His arms kept reaching up to see what she was doing. The dentist was really losing her patience with him. Her sweet demenour was quickly slipping away and she began snapping at him. At one point, when he reached up with his hands, she took hold of his arm and forced it back down by his side, practically yelling “Keep your hands out of the way!” I had offered, more than once, to come hold his hands.

Around this time, he yelled out in pain. I jumped out of my chair and went to stand next to him and began rubbing his leg. After I saw how frustrated she was with his wandering hands, I began holding his hands down. However, since he was hollering in pain, I asked her to give him more Novocain. She replied (in a very exasperated voice) “He’s not in pain. I’ve already removed the nerves and he’s just over-reacting to the pressure.” I initially accepted her answer, but then I saw he was shuddering every time she put her tool into his tooth. He was clearly feeling everything she was doing. I tried again to insist that she give him more medication. Again, she told me that they were almost done and the if he would just hold still they could finish. She actually told him it was his fault that it was taking so long because he kept messing things up. At this point he crying. He’s just laying on the chair, with several dental instruments sticking out of his mouth, sobbing. I’m holding both his hands, doing my best to comfort him.

I was so upset at the dentist! I told her “I knew we should have sedated him.” She replied “Most 6 year olds can handle this type of procedure. They can listen to instructions and cooperate.” I tried to tell her that Petey was not “most 6 year olds.” He’s a highly anxious child who doesn’t sit still well. He’s not the average kid, and I love that about him!

By the end of the procedure, Dr. T’s cover of “Mr Tickle and magic fingernails” had crumbled. She was a young, inexperienced and frustrated dentist who was practically yelling at a six year old. I hold myself in a large part responsible for this whole debacle. I should have known he wouldn’t do well without sedation. I should have insisted. Next time, I’ll know. I also should have realized how young and inexperienced this dentist was. I really hope she learned an important lesson today: she doesn’t know as much as she thinks she does!

We had originally scheduled an appointment for Tuesday to do the last root canal. I cancelled it, and the dentist agreed. She told me to wait until we moved to Spokane and seek out a pediatric dentist. OH! Remember? Remember when she originally told me this couldn’t wait!? But now, it’s ok. Now, that she’s tried to treat him, she’s changing her mind. He can wait, hmmm? ARRRRG.

And, to top it all off, I paid this woman $650 to torture and belittle my child.

But you know what? My sweet Pete was over it about 5 minutes after it was over. He’s not upset at me or the dentist. I bought him a Ben 10 toy that he’s been wanting for a few weeks as a reward for surviving the ordeal. Oh, how I love that boy. He’s such an amazing child. I know most people think he’s a troublemaker, but I just look in his eyes and I know he’s going to make such a huge difference in this world. His mind is constantly working, that’s why he can’t sit still or pay attention. His brain is to busy to be bothered with the outside world ☺ That’s my Petey.

Comments

[ouwxgirl.livejournal.com]

A root canal is not fun for adults let alone kids. When I had mine, I just had the gas and lots of Novocaine and stuff too. Mine literally took hours as my mouth and teeth are small and it was hard to get into.

I'm glad he shrugged it off afterwards. Nothing like a bad trip to the dentist to scar someone for life.

[hermionesmum.livejournal.com]

Poor Petey:(
Does this girl practice independently or is there a senior partner you can complain to?
Misjudging the needs of a kid isn't a cardinal sin worthy of reporting to a professional body, but it does seem like she needs a bit of guidance. some adults can't handle the pressure involved in what should be minor dental work, I'm one of them. You can tell Petey he's made of stronger stuff than I am.