I’ve never had a worse experience at the pediatric dentist as this past Saturday, yes Saturday! My poor son Ryan is only 5, and his back molar tooth was hurting bad, so he woke up at night crying. We gave him baby motrin, and he did go back to sleep.
But what are we supposed to do now, the last dental appt did not touch that tooth, his mouth is full with issues! (His sisters isn’t much better). I scheduled him an emergency Sat appt, and was thinking it would be good to just get it taken care of.
I went in, brought my Kid’s Stuff coupon book to brouse through and find a fun activity to do afterwards with the family, and to take his mind off being at the dentist. His appt was 2:00. After we arrived, they were running late, no biggie, they have video games there, Pac Man… and Ryan loves them. This is one reason he liked the new dentist. We’ll that thought was surely short lived.
When he went in, she said he needed a baby root canal (pulbodimy?) I think she called it? And the tooth right next to it, a cavity or potential root canal too? She said no problem, we’ll take care of them both now.
Ok I thought, one less trip and one less novicane needle to have to go through. He picked Vanilla sweet air, and then was ok for his needle, a bit swirmy, but ok. I thought, ok great the worst is over. Boy was I WRONG!
The Doc started to work on the back molar, and he started screaming! I said what’s the problem? He doesn’t feel anything right? She said, (while holding him down from kicking and screaming), oh, yeah, he has a HOT tooth and then she gave him another shot right into his exposed nerve, and he hollared, crying with dripping tears and saying for me to help him!
I am sick even thinking about it now. He from then on, he did not stop going absoulutly crazy, the nerve novicane did nothing buy torture him! I think he would have been more comfortable if she was sawing him arm off!
She said, with a tooth like this, the novicane doen’t really work. I said, then okay, were outta here…but he was still going balistic even when she wasn’t touching him. I think he was just anticipating the pain, and he had NEVER had an experience at the dentist like this (we were both caught off guard).
I told her to pull the tooth if that would help him, just anything to stop his pain,… she said she couldn’t, and an oral surgeon would have too. Her assistant called 3 and no one was there on the weekend.
I said for her to get the brackets out of his mouth because this was too much. She said I can’t the root is exposed, then she said she could squirt this gell on the nerve and kill it. She had already put cotton in his mouth and he wanted nothing to do with her getting the antiseptic swab out, I told him I would do it, I was beside myself, and he was still screaming!
Finally we got the brackets out of his mouth, and she put the gel on the tooth and a quick VERY quick temp white cavity filling. I thought once she put the nerve gel on, he would be okay, but NO he began yelling it’s cold, make it stop mommy…
This is after she was all done with the little she got done. She said that’s all I can do if he won’t stay still for the root canal. Of course he won’t would you??
Apparently a HOT tooth, is an infected one that usually has the patient on antibiotics for 3 days prior, would have been nice if she had told me before she started anything. He was MUCH better before his visit, wish I knew. I am tramitized still, and he is. The ENTIRE 30 minute ride home, he kept begging me to make the cold stop, “mommy please, help me…please I can’t stop crying…it hurts, please help me” as I’m practically driving off the road in panic.
The dentist told me to give him the Tylenol with Codine prescription I got over the phone the day before to hold him over. She also gave him the antibiotic he needed BEFORE the appt prescription to be picked up. Poor Ryan, had to wait 30 minutes in EXCRUCIATING pain for me to get home, to get any pain relief! I thought about making a stop at the ER cause that’s how much pain he was in, but then headed home for the medicine.
Luckily after we got home, I gave him the medicine, and he just wanted to lay in his bed. Finally he fell asleep, THANK GOD! When he was sleeping, I called an oral surgeon, thinking that he was in this much pain with double novicane, I don’t even want to know how he’ll feel when that wears off! The oral surgeon called the on-call surgeon and was supposed to call me right back. NO CALL DID I GET UNTIL MONDAY!
THANK GOD, when he awoke, he felt better, perhaps the nerve died? I don’t want to take him back to find out. We stayed home the rest of the day, so much for a fun family day!
P.S. As you can guess, I am despirately seeking a Sedation Dentist, the kind you get the pill or drink 30 minutes prior to work, and they can do hours of dental work in one day, without the patient even knowing. CAN ANYONE RECOMMEND A SEDATION DENTIST IN NEW JERSEY?? (NOT JUST NITRIS OXIDE, WE NEED THE BIG DOGS!) That is our next stop cause he will NEVER go back with good reason to a regular dentist!
Today was a bit of Indian summer here in chilly New Jersey. I guess low 40’s in the winter counts for that! We would love to move somewhere warm again! Especially me! I think being a “snow bird” is the best of both worlds, go south for the winter, and come back for the spring, summer and fall… Wish that was possible, but unless we home school, that won’t work with their schedule. 
