The Dentist (or: Another way to be stressed as parents)

When the dentist told us a couple of months ago that we would needed to be referred to a pediatric dentist because my daughter – 3 years old – had cavities I was devastated.

It started with mom guilt about how she could possibly have gotten them.  The reality is that there are a variety of reasons, but given her and her brother have the same diet, same habits – the fact is that she just got them.  Maybe her teeth are more prone to them.  And I did have a conversation about the extended nursing.  While I don’t blame it (and don’t think dental issues are a reason to stop extended nursing) there may be some merit in how we did it.  She (unlike her brother who was extended but stopped in the middle of the night) nursed 24/7 until she was 27 months.  While the nursing itself may not have been an issue, the fact that she was snacking and then nursing may have been.  Lots of extra sugar in a way.

But no matter the reason, it took me a while to convince myself I wasn’t a bad mom because she had cavities.  They happen.

Once I got over that, the next step was our referral.  I did some research and decided to get an appointment with the Kids and Teen Dentistry.  Looking at their website and how they are set up for kids, I thought it would be the best way to make it a smoother process.

I felt so much better just calling them.  The receptionist reassured me that it will be ok, how the process would work for the consult and so on.  When we arrived, my daughter thought she was a play area.  The waiting area is filled with fun, kid friendly items like video games where you ride on a skate board (while standing on an actual skate board) or riding a dirt bike (while peddling an bike).  There is a play kitchen and house.  A tree house.  An interactive screen.  Hopscotch and more.

The consult put me at ease right away.  The dentist was so kind and thoughtful.  There was no judgement, no harshness, no concern about how this is going to be.  We booked her appointment for today and waited.  My daughter was excited to go back.

The biggest question, given her age (they tend to be squirmy) was whether or not she would be able to have the fillings done with just gas or if she would have to have general anesthesia and ‘go under’.  I made my desire to not have to do that known and the dentist reassured me that given her temperment she seemed cooperative and things should be ok with just the gas.

Today was the appointment

Both Andy and I went with her and she spent the morning in the waiting room showing daddy around all the cool stuff. She took her medicine as directed, picked a Barbie DVD from their selection to watch (tvs on the ceiling and headphones provided) and she was set.  We kissed her and left the room, hesitantly (despite being confident in the dentist.)

The 30 minutes actually went fairly quickly and they came to get us announcing she had done really really well.  My little trooper, tough and confident in all she does, was fearless and brave and we were so proud.

We were thankful for the dentist office that is so kid focused that they seem to ‘get’ what parents must be feeling each time we have to go to these appointments.

She had two fillings done and has another two at the end of August.

In the meantime, it was recommended we add a little fluoride to her toothpaste (we currently use fluoride free) but I’m just not sure.  I don’t want fluoride toothpaste that isn’t somewhat natural.  She did tell me that Tom’s of Maine has a natural toothpaste that we could look into.  Anyone have any recommendations?

Overall, the process went really well.  But we are all tired from the stress and worry and early morning.  There is nothing worse than fearing our children may be in pain.  Turns out, it’s us who are often in more pain from our feelings.