Saturday, April 16, 2011

dental nightmare

dentist

olive had a very traumatic dental appointment yesterday. she had a cavity between two of her teeth that had to be fixed. we explained the process and that her mouth would feel funny but it would be painless. she did great getting her teeth cleaned a month ago and showed no real anxiety leading up to the experience or even while we were there until the novocaine shot. the numbing gel they put on first didn't do much because she screamed when they put the shot in her gum. then, as soon as that kicked in she FREAKED. thank the Lord that i had taken an ativan that morning because it made ME freak out. she cried and kept asking what was wrong with her, were her cheek and lip still on her face? was this permanent? WHAT WAS HAPPENING!? i took her out of the dental chair and sat her on my lap and calmed her and explained what was going on (again) and how it was a good thing that it felt numb because the drill wouldn't feel good if it wasn't. reassured she got back in the chair and i held her hand while they started the drill. turns out she wasn't totally numb and i'm telling you she looked like she was being electrocuted. back arching, fingers straight out, toes pointed, SCREAMING. but we were too far into it to turn back so we had to push on against her will. she got another novocaine shot but she was so afraid! i laid her in my lap and secured her arms and whispered loving words to her while another nurse secured her legs and the other worked. she just kept screaming "mommy! i want to go home! mommy make them stop!" i of course was crying but i couldn't take her home. i couldn't tell them to stop because she had a huge hole in her teeth! literally the whole process was maybe 20-25 minutes but it was the worst time i can remember of her life. we just held each other for a long time afterward and when we hit the doorway to leave she turned around and sniffled, "i am never getting a cavity again!"

removed from the situation she was more like "yeah, that sucked" so i'm glad she had no lasting damage. not that i thought she would but man, it was pretty bad. it was quickly forgotten soon afterward because she had preschool and then her birthday party that night. but that is another entry.

12 comments:

Dori the Giant said...

Aw, that really sucks, and your story make me wince.

I always get cavities and I always make sure they numb me LOTS because I always seem to feel pain.

Lisa said...

Oh, boy. SO not fun. My little guy had to have dental work last year, but they put him under, and after reading this, I'm glad. What a rough day to be a mom. Glad it is over!

Anonymous said...

wow, is this a very kid friendly office? i would have never thought they would do novocaine so young. my son had a cavity filled about 6 months ago, (he's 5), and that wasn't even an option. they used gas and it went very smoothly.

so sorry she had to go through that but at least she had fun things that followed so hopefully she'll be okay next visit.

Olive said...

several of my real life friends have said the same thing re: gas v. novocaine. this was not a pediatric dentist but next time (if there is one) i will insist on it or go somewhere else.

Vicky said...

What a nightmare, for both of you.
I'm glad she recovered quickly though. x

Kathy Campbell said...

I have a high level of pain in my teeth....something about the nerves being higher in my teeth than normal. I had an onlay put in my teeth where the molar had cracked a few months ago and when they took the temporary out, they blew it dry with air. The pain was seriously worse than childbirth. So I have a note on my chart now to allow for extra time to settle in and have more Novocain. Just so you know too, gas never worked with me....I've always needed to have Novocain because the gas would never settle down deep enough. :/

Poor Olive!

madelyn said...

agreed, I always feel the pain too and I just started to get anxiety about the dentist starting about 2 years ago, and I'm 21! like, you'd think this would've happened when I was younger, not now. But I feel bad for little Olive... dentist chairs are so frightening to me.

Anonymous said...

Poor Olive! It sounds like you did the best you could with what you had and for that, you are an awesome Momma!

Beth said...

oh thats awful. I had to hold Joe down when he needed stitches in his chin, it was awful.

This experience will make her stronger but what a horrible experience for a mom and a little one.

Gas is a better option id imagine for this age...good to know for me as well. thx for the suggestion(s).

Olive said...

yikes! what was the cause of his stitches? im so thankful we've never had to take olive to the doctor for anything like that (yet)!

Emily said...

Poor thing. What a nightmare for both of you. I've been searching for information and just plain old helpful tips from other parents because my son needs to have some dental work done. He will be 3 next month. I fully anticipate a melt down and I'm trying to find a dentist who will do light sedation because I know otherwise he'll have to be restrained. Talk about lifelong dental fear & hatred! I've found some helpful info on this Mom's Guide to caring for little teeth. Copy and paste: http://www.1dental.com/moms-guide/

On the plus side, I'm glad your girl now has major motivation to take good care of her teeth!

Olive said...

are you going to an orthopedic dentist or a family one? we went to a family one but from what i gather pediatric ones are pretty willing to give kids some laughing gas. i didn't even think to ask but i definitely will next time! (if there is one)