Dentist

Sunday, December 6, 2009
So I have a confession to make that is going to make me sound like an elitist snob, which I'm not. I made a dentist appointment for E at the children's dental place right up the road from us and we were there 30 minutes before I grabbed him and walked out. This is the part I'm ashamed of...ready? We walked out because the place was not "nice." There were tons of children and I talked to about half of them in those 30 minutes and they were terrifying me with their stories. One kid came out with blood still gushing out his mouth (tooth pulled) and one girl opened her mouth to show me the tooth they were going to pull and her entire mouth was golden yellow and her molars were flat. And the more I looked around, the more panicked I became. Plus the office has a "no parents in the back" policy, which I would have been ok with had there not been so many rotten and bleeding mouths yammering at me. I don't know if the state of the waiting room mouths was an accurate reflection on the competence of the dentists in the office, but holy crap. I flipped. Mumbled something about waiting too long and lunch and grumpy kid and ran out of there like the building was on fire.

At least that's why I think I left. I have tried to look at it from every angle - to make sure I'm being honest with myself - and I think I am. But there's a nagging feeling I can't shake. Why did I really leave? Was I afraid of something else? I'm pretty confident that E's going to get a good prognosis from whatever dentist we go to. He rarely drinks juice, hardly ever eats candy and brushes his teeth every single night and most mornings. So it's not like I was afraid that they were going to find cavities or anything. I don't have any traumatic childhood dental experiences haunting me, so it's not that either. So what could it have been? Other than the fact that there was something really unsettling about the office itself? Hmmm.

5 comments to Dentist:

Cloud said...

I think you left because somethng set off your mom radar, and you'll probably never know if it was something real or something imagined. Either way, it doesn't really matter, right? You can pick a different dentist and try again.

Laurie said...

Our dentist told us that kids often do better without the parents in the room, but I definitely want to be the one making the choice. I would have left too. That sounds a little overwhelming for a first dentist visit.

Meredith said...

You followed your instincts. Nothing wrong about that. What if something had gone wrong, E had gotten scared, or worse - someone did something that hurt him? You did the right thing.
(PS - I won't go to a dentist where I'm not allowed in the patient room. Sorry. Maybe I'm THAT mom, but so be it. I want to see what is going on and be there for my kid.)

Christine said...

Take it from someone who grew up with a dentist who was later sued for fraud...you did the right thing! Our dentist used to fill 2 cavities EVERY visit...and used novacaine. Once we switched dentists, we magically never had cavities again. Always trust your instincts!

CrunchyChick said...

I'm with you! I would have high-tailed it out of there, too. I'm also against a no-parents-in-the-back rule. My kid, my choice. Good for you mama!

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