Trip to the Dentist

I took both kids to the dentist today. Anna received her second clean report in a row! Hooray! She did awesome. She even got to push the buttons to move the chair up and down and back and all over again.

Carter, however... Did not want anything to do with anyone. He hid behind me and refused to sit in the chair. They gave him a toy because he had given up his binky since his last visit. He played with some stuffed dinosaurs. He watched Anna in the room next to him. But he would not sit in that chair.

When it finally came down to it (after 30 minutes of warming up) he cried as hard as he could and yelled while I held him in my lap and laid him back so his head was in the dentist's lap and she brushed his teeth with a normal toothbrush and painted flouride on. He has a cavity in the back most molar on the left. After his second experience with such a tantrum (he threw his popsicle on the floor and spit all over my shirt afterwards to get the flouride out. I was so proud) the dentist looked and me and said I have two options: we can do sedation or we can try the gas. I think she and I were on the same page: sedation.

It will basically take up an entire day for me because I will want to get it scheduled in the morning if possible since he can't eat or drink before. Then it takes awhile to prep (hopefully he will drink the sedation but if not - and I'm guessing not - he will get a nasal spray). Then there is a 70% chance it will have a good effect and they will do the filling and also take x-rays. Then he has to be in recovery and then there are supposed to be two adults so one of us can help him in the car and the other can drive. I was told he would be very loopy and I immediately thought of that youtube video of that kid high after dental work.

Each dentist in the group only does these sedation treatments one day a month because it requires a nurse from Children's Mercy to help administer the sedation adn monitoring. So it won't be until May probably.

Sedation is not covered by insurance. And you have to pay for everything when you SCHEDULE the appointment, not when you go and have it done. Good times.