When I took my son to my dentist he had a hard time functioning. They weren’t able to get an x-ray because he is young and fidgety. I tried a pediatric dentist next and they had more success. There were two cavities. I agreed to let them do the fillings, but decided because of his age and restlessness to do it when we can give him some dental sedation to make things less traumatic for him. The day of the appointment went fine. He was woozy but I expected that. What I didn’t expect was for them to call me after we got home to tell me one of the cavities was deeper than they suspected and they had to give him a pulpotomy and a dental crown. Was that necessary? Shouldn’t they have been able to tell from the x-rays? Also, shouldn’t they have asked?
Madison
Dear Madison,
First, I’ll say I’m glad you were persistent in making sure your son received the dental care he needs. When one dentist couldn’t work with him properly, you turned to a pediatric dentist. It shows how much you care about him. Now, to answer your questions. The thing about x-rays is they are two-dimensional images of three-dimensional objects. If the cavities were wide instead of deep, it may have been easier to see. However, some decay can be a pinpoint that just digs down deep. They can be hard to see the extent. That is especially true if you have a wiggly patient. Be assured, I’m not blaming your son. They’re supposed to be active when they’re young. So, it is possible that it was a needed procedure, if it was done on a back molar. Those are the only baby teeth that have to be preserved until they’re around twelve years of age.
Another good decision was to go ahead with dental sedation. That simple addition makes the procedure much less traumatic for him. Most dental anxiety in adults can be traced back to an appointment in their childhood that frightened them.
All that being said, they should have consulted you and received your permission before doing a procedure on your son. That’s not okay.
You have a couple of choices from here. You can just decide you’re never going back there or you can give them another chance. If you decide on the latter, call them and be direct about how inappropriate it was they did that and if they pull that again you will not be back and will be very vocal on their reviews.
This blog is brought to you by Decatur, AL Dentists Drs. Drake and Wallace.