Thankfully, the dentist appointment is over. . .

Due to Mercedes having a small VSS (tiny hole in her heart), she needs to have the amox an hour prior to her dental visit. Kim (daycare) and I had gone over everything last night so everything was all set. When I picked her up, she was all excited and said she "ate" her 4 pills and did so with her poptart. The pills are chewable so I sent a poptart with and told her she could chew the pill and the poptart together. We got there and she sat in the chair and she was just fine. I had explained the part about the big Qtip that numbs the spot where the shot will go and the shot itself and she did just fine. Well, right after the shot, she started crying. Like tears and everything. I know I absolutely hate going to the dentist. Even more than having my yearly at the doctor. To me, the shots hurt and I hate everything about it. Ick. So, Mercedes is crying (with her mouth open) and she keeps her mouth open just because she knows Dr Reinmuth needs it open. Ooooh, I know - Jon and I were soooo proud of her! Jon was kneeling on the floor on one side and I was kneeling on the floor on the other side. Both of us were holding a hand and rubbing her legs telling her it will be ok. Personally, I can't imagine being only 4 and having 2 cavities filled. She was still so strong through it all and I was so proud of her! So, we have her breathing through her mouth and the dentist needs to drill away the old temporary filling he put in a few weeks ago. Well, he starts doing that and she cries even harder. She never, ever, got out of control to where we had to hold her down or anything, but she was just sooo scared! I suppose the noise and everything. Well, as soon as he sprayed water, she cried again. Then, he used the suction thing and she cried again. When he used the air thing, she cried again. Then she started saying it hurt. Omg. What on earth do you do? I asked Dr Reinmuth one time if it hurt her and he said there is no way it could hurt her. Personally, I don't think he waited very long from the time he gave her the shot to the time he did the drilling, but what do I know. Man, from a parent's perspective seeing what a dentist does is an eye opener vs being the patient. Yikes. Her tooth was bleeding and then he'd spray and suction and she would gag and cry. It's hard to tell her when you'd suction because there wasn't enough time to tell her because he needed to do it right away. You know? We'd try to tell her, but I don't think she even heard us. She was so incredibly scared. You know, Dr Reinmuth is the cheapest around because he has the least overhead. He's been doing this forever and he does most things himself. He just now got a part time hygenist and she is very nice. You don't get a toothbrush when your visit is over. Stuff like that is what keeps his cost down. So, the cost of Mercedes' cavities today was $142. Compared to the dentists around, that is extremely cheap. So, I don't know if it's worth the trauma though. However, on the other hand, no matter where she went, they would still drill, use the suction, spray the air and the water. The nutshell is the same so does it make a difference really if there's a friendly lady behind the counter who greets you when you come in or just the dentist himself with a smile saying, "I'm ready for you, Mercedes." I guess not. I'm thinking she will still be traumatized no matter where she goes because the instruments are all the same and they all have to go into her mouth. Her next appointment is on May 15th at 8am to have her teeth cleaned, so hopefully after that appointment she'll realize it won't be so bad. I know they have to use water, suction and air that time, too. Plus, it will be the hygenist doing it so maybe that will help, too. Man, it just sucks seeing your baby girl cry because she's so scared. I just think to myself that this is only a dentist appointment and to thank God that that it wasn't something more serious. I also brought her green bunny from Easter with, she she was able to hold that while she was laying there. Hopefully that helped a little bit. She did have a big smile on her face when she saw it. I think she deserves something pretty special when we go shopping! :0)

Peace.