Dentistphobia! | Imamother

amother

Tue, Nov 27 2012, 11:05 am

My five year old son is a very bright, very agreeable kind of child. B"h he is usually very cooperative, and is a stickler for rules. But, when it comes to the dentist, he is a nightmare. Not that I blame him, unfortunetly, he inherited some nasty teeth genes, and is going on his ninth cavity! He still has three more to fill, and I don't know what to do with him. Last time we were there, he refused to cooperate, sobbing hysterically that he knows it's going to hurt, and kept saying, "please, leave me alone! don't hurt me! don't touch me!" He then turned to me and pushed the ultimate guilt button saying that he's supposed to tell me if anyone touches him in a way that makes him uncomfortable, and the dentist in his mouth is making his teeth uncomfortable, etc. Before y'all go and attack the dentist, I have to say that the dentist is a pediatric dentist, who is great with kids. He first showed my son on his fingers how he's going to count his teeth (last visit was merely a check up- now we have to go back to fill the newfound cavities Crying

) He let him hold all the tools, and showed him what each one's job was. He had a drawer full of prizes, and video screen with headphones, with a choice of 20 child friendly videos, the works! Till the dentist came to his mouth, my son was OK. As soon as the dentist asked him to open his mouth, it was game over. My son jumped off the chair, and ran out of the room. It was quite a nightmare! And this was for a check up! How are we going to fill the 3 cavities, and how are we going to get him to cooperate? Bribes won't work, and I really want to handle this right, as he is bright, and I can't blame his for resisting pain.....

vintagebknyc

Tue, Nov 27 2012, 11:44 am

my childhood dentist seemed like a really great woman. her walls were filled with letters of praise from grateful patients. in truth, I think the letters were faked. her friendliness a cover for true sadism.

I would try another dentist before I tried nitrous. and possibly a child psychologist who can help him with some coping methods.

amother

Tue, Nov 27 2012, 11:56 am

Both these suggestions seem kind of invasive. Laughing gas for a cavity? And a child psychologist for a kid who is resisting getting his mouth "boo-booed" up? He b"h copes beautifully with most other things, I feel like this is just a case of dentistphobia. He does OK when he gets a throat culture, shots, etc. I feel like this is his thingy that he just can't stand. What did people do 30 years ago?

vintagebknyc

Tue, Nov 27 2012, 12:01 pm

amother wrote:

he's FIVE. 30 years ago, they had nitrous, shrinks, and dentists kids were terrified of. find some compassion, please.

smiledr

Tue, Nov 27 2012, 12:38 pm

Dentist phobia is def a real thing - I have 40 y o patients who r traumatized by dentists from childhood but as per the op it doesn't seem that this will cause long lasting issues bec the dentist isn't holding him down and working w o anesthesia as child screams in pain. Some kids - and adults needs s t to take the edge off and relax them like nitrous. I don't prescribe Valium to kids bec it can have the reverse effect. Try talking to ur child before the appt and reassure him that he's a nice dentist and a good dentist who will explain everything along the way. I'm sure ur dentist is well equipped to deal with ur child . Good luck.

amother

Tue, Nov 27 2012, 1:33 pm

OP here. First of all, the dentist is amazing- with teeth and with kids. I'm not merely going by a reputation. The way he dealt with my son was quite impressive, he didn't rush things, explained everything on an age appropriate level, etc. He let my son play around with the equipment, showed him on his fingers first what he would do (cleaning) etc. That is not the concern. After the visit, when my son was calm, safely in bed, we spoke a bit about what happened and what would have to happen (filling cavities). I do think he understands that it's important to fill the cavities, but, being five years old, don't care very much. His thing is, he knows it's going to be painful, so why should he cooperate. BTW, the cavities he had filled in the past were done without anything and he was OK. Last time, a different dentist was covering, and used novacaine. I think the injection, and the subsequent numbness is what put him over the edge. Maybe nitrous is a good idea...