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Son had first filling and it was traumatic

M

MountainMama

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 1, 2018
Messages
2,593
I want to say first off, it was no fault of the dentist that my ten year old’s experience was bad. The dentist was great! He even was very patient with all my son’s many nervous questions and explained everything.
First the filling was by all appearances small and in one of the grooves on his first molar. The dentist gave a very good shot, which my son even said barely hurt, then put sealants on his other molars while he let the area numb. It got bad after he started drilling. First, the “tiny” cavity apparently “mushroomed” (dentist’s description) out under the surface so it was bigger than it appeared. Then we discovered that my son has the same issue I do with getting and staying numb. He gave another shot and my son was in tears, trying to hold them back after he started drilling again. The dentist felt terrible and said he was going to try a different kind of shot right up against the tooth on the other side. It still ended up hurting while he drilled so he stopped drilling and scraped the rest out manually. My son calmed down but still had tears running down his face. The dentist said if he had known from the start it was going to be that big, he would have given the nerve block shot at the back.
 
Hi MountainMama,

so sorry to read about your sons experience. :( I was wondering whether it would have been an option to stop for that day and try again next time or use a sedation method? It sounds like three different shots were tried and there was still pain. Did your son know that those were shots or was the dentist working below your sons line of sight?
 
My son knew they were shots. He functions better when he knows what is going on and the dentist explained everything very well to him. The third shot was actually painful, so I think he wasn’t as numb as he should have been from the start. This was his first time getting a shot so he didn’t know what it was supposed to feel like when it was numb.
After the third shot the dentist did tell my son that they could stop any time he needed to, but that he was almost done. He said he just had a little bit at the bottom left and wouldn’t use the drill anymore. My son said he just wanted to get it over with. I think it was harder for me, because it brought back a lot of bad memories from my childhood, although my dentist wasn’t as sympathetic as this one.
I don’t think it has lasting effects. He has been bouncing around the house, happy, since the numbing wore off and almost bragging about having to have three shots. He also told his sister the shots were not bad at all, just the drill.
The dentist did a good job explaining to him that if they ever have to do work again, he will use the nerve block shot.
I made sure to acknowledge his fear without freaking out myself, at least outwardly, so that was an accomplishment.
 
Hi.

I'm so sorry to hear about your son's experience. I've had numbing issues as a child and still as an adult. It can be scary especially for a child. Glad to hear he is doing better after the appointment.

JJ
 
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