Dental Dont's!

I figure I've waited long enough and may as well get this icky post over with! To make a long story short, everything we had hoped for was the complete opposite. But since I am here to give details, I'll keep going ;) It's probably a good thing I didn't write this right away. I was (and still am) pretty darn miffed! Assuming you read the last post you know what our fears were with the dentist. ...Well those fears came true & she won't be hearing back from this Momma. I'll be keeping my Babies far from her! Ok, so here's the play by play. We got there and the assistant was curtious and led us to a room, gave Walter a blue toothbrush & explained what the appointment was going to (supposed to!) be like. Among her explanations she had me sit in a regular chair with W in my lap, facing me because "they don't put children into the big dental chair until they are 3 1/2 so they don't get scared & are at ease." Now we are seated & (thankfully my friend Nichole came with for support) this is where the dentist comes in smiling. (Probably a nice person setting aside her lack of knoledge in her own line of work!)

She has W lay his head in her lap & immediately labels him with bottle rot. Yep. My Baby who has NEVER had a bottle. Then proceeds to poke around his mouth & make note to her assistant, every other tooth saying, "Red line, ...another red line,..." times 6! Not bothering to explain a thing. I spoke up & talked to her about the other possibilities I mentioned in the previous post, and explained that the genetic causes ran on Dan's side of the family & there was no way it was bottle rot because that amount of damage takes years, not months. To which she replied, "Oh, I can tell you just by looking at it, that it's not genetic! Baby teeth can decay very quickly it doesn't take long at all! The sugars in breastmilk break the teeth right down." I informed her about the protective properties of breastmilk (lactoferra) & she looked confused and told me she had never heard of that. So I told her how rare the genetic cause is and that our plan is to have genetic testing done through his pediatrician. She simply nods & says, "Sure you could look into that. Lets get him scheduled to have those teeth pulled. She goes on to say that they would perform the procedure right here in her office & pull W's teeth. (Now this is where I got really pissed!)

I referred to her website which very clearly states that they only perform these types of procedures in one of their partnering hospitals surgery rooms and with the Baby put under general anesthesia. She SMILES and says, "Noooo :) It will only take a few minutes. I will put him in the dental chair and have you hold him down while we strap a gas mask over his nose and I will pull out his teeth. It won't hurt at all so there's no pain meds given. Oh, he'll cry, and scream but if you just keep him still I can have it done fast!".......Yes folks the lady really said that. And it gets WORSE! When I asked her, "You really put a little Baby through that? How does that NOT hurt?!?" She says (now this one's a doozy), "Well the hospital only rents out the surgury room to us if it's a longer procedure. If it's not worth their time they just tell us to do it right here." (and oh yes that smile was still on her face, but it didn't have that friendly feel anymore)

By this time, as you can imagine, my jaw was dropped as I just sat there patting W's back (he was still crying from laying his head in a strangers lap). I composed myself and said, "You want to have me pin him to that chair while you rip his teeth out without pain medicine, while he's awake? He's a BABY! He was crying extremely hard just from putting his head in your lap!" She simply says that I can go ahead and think about it first if I'd like. (really?) My friend, Nichole then asked her, "So, what do you suggest be done to prevent this from reoccuring?" Shocked, she turns to me & suggests that he only have water. No breastmilk, no juice, just water, claiming he doesn't need it! I told her sternly, "He only gets a sippy in his highchair with his meals. And they are 3 parts water and 1 part juice. He nurses in the morning, a few times thruought the day, & I nurse him to sleep just like I did with my almost 3 year old who's teeth look NOTHING like W's! I brush his teeth before & after bed with a washcloth."

Then she tried telling me I should be waking him up after his night feeding to wipe his teeth again. Hello! Did she not just hear me when I said I nurse him TO SLEEP? I was tired of it all and feigned interest, said I would discuss it with my Husband and paid my money at the checkout. Then found out from the receptionist that the dentist had planned on pulling SIX of his teeth! And in two separate appointments to boot! How was she expecting our child to eat? These were all front top and bottom teeth she wanted to take, and he wouldn't get his adult teeth for many years to come! But she refused the idea of caps and looked at me like I didn't know what I was saying. So...we left when all was said & done feeling pretty disheartened and very eager for a second opinion. I'm researching a lot online and am considering Ann Arbor for the University of Michigan's dental care studies. We have friends who have gone there and recieved superior care and their website is very informational. Praying for better experiences! Let us know if you know of a good dentist. Sadly this one didn't work out.