Brayden getting his teeth cleaned:
Several years ago, when we lived in the Bay Area, Taylor needed a very small, very simple, and very near-painless dental procedure done. Our family dentist, was explaining to him what needed to be done, and unfortunately, he began by telling him he was going to give him a shot to numb everything up. Once Taylor heard the word "shot", he fell apart, starting freaking out and wouldn't let our dentist do the procedure. I ended up having to go to a pediatric dentist 20 miles away just to have this procedure done (which literally took 30 seconds.) It was a big pain in the rear for me, and I was annoyed with many parties involved over the whole incident, including my child, who had a meltdown in the dentist chair.
When we moved to Phoenix, I asked around for dentist referrals, and got the good recommendation of a pediatric dentist in the next town over. I figured this would be helpful so I wouldn't have to hunt one down just to have any extra dental work done on the kids above and beyond the routine 2 visits a year.
My kids love going to this dentist. They love the two Labrador retrievers that Dr. L brings with him to work each day. They love the playground in the waiting room and the fish tank. I love the "hygiene area". They have three beds all lined up in one big room so I can conceivably have 3 of my 4 kids getting their teeth cleaned all at once! I love Dr. L because even though my older kids don't have perfect teeth, he doesn't pressure us into orthodontics (which this office also provides.) It's a win-win for all.
Two years ago, we got the bad news that Ian had a cavity. And not only one, but two. So, I scheduled the return visit to have them taken care of. Here's the stickler... the insurance doesn't pay for the laughing gas. And they give all kids laughing gas to help them relax and stay calm. So, what should be mostly (80%) covered by insurance is only half covered by insurance. And to add insult to injury, they are so nice about it to the kids. I know they are trying to keep kids from having bad experiences at the dentist at an early age, so they are sweet and nice and all that, but I'm not personally thrilled that they didn't give my child a stern lecture about brushing/flossing and good hygiene practices.
Again, this week - Ian has a cavity. This one is between teeth and so is likely a result of him not flossing. Dr. P said that we could probably have avoided this by having him rinse with mouthwash everyday, which I was buying for a while after the last cavity, but stopped because it's so expensive and with 4 kids using it, it was costing me a fortune. Yeah, but not as much as this dental bill is going to cost me... $117 for one cavity. Ouch! I had threatened Ian after the last one that if he got more cavities, I would take the dental bill out of his allowance. He remembers that, but is that too harsh? I would never make him pay the whole thing, but I'm tempted to bill him for part of it. I don't know of any other way to help him realize the importance of brushing and flossing. I think refusing the laughing gas would be harsh, so I won't do that, even though I'm tempted. What do you think?
Several years ago, when we lived in the Bay Area, Taylor needed a very small, very simple, and very near-painless dental procedure done. Our family dentist, was explaining to him what needed to be done, and unfortunately, he began by telling him he was going to give him a shot to numb everything up. Once Taylor heard the word "shot", he fell apart, starting freaking out and wouldn't let our dentist do the procedure. I ended up having to go to a pediatric dentist 20 miles away just to have this procedure done (which literally took 30 seconds.) It was a big pain in the rear for me, and I was annoyed with many parties involved over the whole incident, including my child, who had a meltdown in the dentist chair.
When we moved to Phoenix, I asked around for dentist referrals, and got the good recommendation of a pediatric dentist in the next town over. I figured this would be helpful so I wouldn't have to hunt one down just to have any extra dental work done on the kids above and beyond the routine 2 visits a year.
My kids love going to this dentist. They love the two Labrador retrievers that Dr. L brings with him to work each day. They love the playground in the waiting room and the fish tank. I love the "hygiene area". They have three beds all lined up in one big room so I can conceivably have 3 of my 4 kids getting their teeth cleaned all at once! I love Dr. L because even though my older kids don't have perfect teeth, he doesn't pressure us into orthodontics (which this office also provides.) It's a win-win for all.
Two years ago, we got the bad news that Ian had a cavity. And not only one, but two. So, I scheduled the return visit to have them taken care of. Here's the stickler... the insurance doesn't pay for the laughing gas. And they give all kids laughing gas to help them relax and stay calm. So, what should be mostly (80%) covered by insurance is only half covered by insurance. And to add insult to injury, they are so nice about it to the kids. I know they are trying to keep kids from having bad experiences at the dentist at an early age, so they are sweet and nice and all that, but I'm not personally thrilled that they didn't give my child a stern lecture about brushing/flossing and good hygiene practices.
Again, this week - Ian has a cavity. This one is between teeth and so is likely a result of him not flossing. Dr. P said that we could probably have avoided this by having him rinse with mouthwash everyday, which I was buying for a while after the last cavity, but stopped because it's so expensive and with 4 kids using it, it was costing me a fortune. Yeah, but not as much as this dental bill is going to cost me... $117 for one cavity. Ouch! I had threatened Ian after the last one that if he got more cavities, I would take the dental bill out of his allowance. He remembers that, but is that too harsh? I would never make him pay the whole thing, but I'm tempted to bill him for part of it. I don't know of any other way to help him realize the importance of brushing and flossing. I think refusing the laughing gas would be harsh, so I won't do that, even though I'm tempted. What do you think?
6 comments:
If you said it, (and he remembers it) you'd better be consistent and stick to your guns. Talk to him (I know..again!) and then bill him fior what you think is the right amount. Responsibility and consistency never hurt anyone...heck...he's lucky he gets an allowance at all in this economy!
I'm tempted to switch pediatric dentists for that reason. I'm all about making it comfortable but Austin had a cavity and he LOVED every second of the procedure - movies, Rootbeer smelling laughing gas...He says he wants another cavity.
we have this problem, but w/ the 13yr old... w/ braces :(
so our deal is that she gets 15 min at night of 'extra' TV while she can floss, I know with another kid, we had a time of day, not night time ::shrug::: where they had to go and floss.....
good luck
I just broke a tooth this week, that cost me $400 boo hoo
Im a "retired" RDA who last worked in a pediatic dental office...On that note..don't torture the Dr. and Assistant by not letting him get the N2o (laughing gas)...No fun to work on someone who is crying, and you are having to pretty much sit on top of to get the work done, that will do more harm then good. I would though make him pay for the N2o, if you think that will teach him a lesson. That im sure is less then the filling, but a good amount of money.
And now you may get mad about what im going to say next...remeber we are family :) He is still young and it is hard to figure the flossing thing out..You are the mom, he needs to do it on his own but you have to double check and possibly do it your self again...you are the one mad about paying the money, you need to see exatly what he is doing. My RDA advice for you...get the hand held flossers...not the children ones, the adult ones, they have a handle like a toothbrush, the floss tips pop in and out, they are super easy for the kids to hold, they are much more sturdier (is that even a word??) and if you have to get in and help, it is sooo easy, you don't have to shove your whole hand in his mouth. The best ones are "Reach access flossers" they come in all different colors so all the kids can have there own color.
Good luck to you...Hope you are not mad :)
Kayla, no I'm not mad at all... you have to try harder than that to offend me! I would never refuse the laughing gas, even though it bugs me that the insurance doesn't cover it. That's great advice about flossing and flossers. I will look for them next time I am at the store. And I guess I can't be too mad at my kids for poor flossing habits- mine are just as bad! ;-)
That slab the poor kid is laying on looks torturous! I guess when you get laughing gas, comfort is not an issue, huh? ;)
Janine
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