the dentist

Pediatric Dentists have, in my opinion the hardest job of all dentists. Their patients are so innocent and unaware of the pain a dentist can bring. It can go one of two ways. The first being the way it went with me when I was 4 years old. I went to the dentist to have a cavity filled and was traumatized. The man shouldn't of been a dentist on a corpse never mind a child. Or the way it went for Isabella today.

Due to Isabella's cleft lip her bite and her tooth don't line up properly and she wore away at the enamel and it turned into a cavity. The news of this "cavity" devastated me. It would be one thing if she never brushed her teeth and ate candy all the time but that's not the case. She brushes twice a day and uses anti-cavity mouth wash without even being told. We take her to the dentist every 3 months to avoid, what now seems was inevitable, a cavity.

Since we found out about this 2 weeks ago it's been looming over my head. She enjoys going to the dentist believe it or not because they are so incredibly nice and paint her nails when she is done. I thought after she had the cavity fixed she would dread going to the dentist as I did as a child.

I wanted to tell her so badly that it was going to hurt and she was going to get a needle but the doctor told me that wouldn't be the best way to go about it. I suppose in this case ignorance was bliss and she wouldn't of gotten in the chair had I told her that. So we went and she made it out alive!

Me on the other hand...not so much. I heard her crying and moaning which simply broke my heart. I was trembling and couldn't breathe, it was a border line panic attack. I too brought some support, the support of my Grandpa, the guy who first took me to the dentist 25 years ago. He tried to keep my mind off of her moans and groans but I could still hear her. I had to leave the lobby and go stand in the hallway. The hygienist came out and told me she told the doctor that mom was crying so she wanted to ensure me she was fine. She told me Isabella was not crying in pain she was just moaning because she didn't like the drying out her mouth to do the filling. These poor people have one of the hardest jobs. They have to deal with frightened children as well as their basket case mothers!

So after the procedure she didn't run out of the room screaming she went and had her nails painted. The doctor, who reminds me of snow white with the soft voice and all came out with Isabella's I-Pod, blankie and giraffie and told me how it went...they listened to Rhianna the whole time and she did great. So thank you Pediatric Dental Arts and Dr. Melissa for making Isabella's first "scary" dental experience a not so scary one!