Two weeks ago, we took Mason to the dentist because he had a toothache. The dentist suspected a cracked filling so he replaced it. After the dentist finished the filling, he noticed the tooth was loose. Only then did he decide to do an x-ray. Yes, he did NOT do an x-ray before diagnosing or treating Mason. He was that confident in the problem because the filling was clearly cracked. I could see it, too. The x-ray revealed that the roots on that tooth are almost completely gone, and it’s very close to falling out – three years early. Mason is almost 7 but that tooth shouldn’t come out until he’s 10. Max started losing his baby teeth at age four so there is a family history of baby teeth falling out early. The dentist gave us $80 off the bill because we “won’t get much mileage out of that filling”, and told us to keep an eye on him in case an absess develops. It was a very large filling.

A few days later, Mason started complaining about that tooth again. I called early the next morning and they said to bring him right in. The dentist said it was now the tooth in front of the one that had been filled and that it, too, was ready to come out so he thought it was best to pull it. I disagreed with him about which tooth was affected. He insisted he was right. Okay, I though, what do I know? He’s the doc. I then asked him if he should do an x-ray first to see if there was an absess. He said, “Oh, I’m sure there’s an absess.”

I said, “Aren’t we supposed to give antibiotics before pulling an absessed tooth?”

He said, “No, the absess will come out with the tooth.”

I started getting uncomfortable as I was pretty sure that was NOT what I’ve always read/heard. But, again, I trusted him because he’s the doc (stupid, I know!). He dosed Mason up with Novacaine and then tried to pull the tooth. Mason howled. He stopped and gave Mason more Novacaine. He waited a few more times and tried again. Mason SCREAMED! I was shaking and sweating by this time.

I said, “Something is very wrong.”

The dentist said, “He is interpreting the pressure as pain.”

I said, “No, that’s not correct. Mason has a very high pain tolerance. When he complains, it’s already past the point that most of us can stand.”

He did the Novacaine/attempt-to-pull process one more time and Mason was howling. I stood up to stop him just as he backed up from the chair and said, “This isn’t going to work.”

I wanted to say, “Duh!” But, instead I gritted my teeth and said, “I agree. Refer me to another dentist and schedule and emergency appointment RIGHT NOW.”

He did and said “No charge for today.”

Yeah, right. I would have refused to pay anyway!

Mason cried all the way to the other dentist, which was right around the corner. It was a pediatric dentist that offers sedation. The previous dentist said he’s not allowed to offer sedation; not even laughing gas. I wonder why? Did he do something wrong??

When we arrived at the new dentist, Mason calmed down when he saw the toys in the waiting room. They were able to see him quickly. An x-ray revealed two things. The absess was in the tooth that had been filled the previous week, and the tooth the doc had attempted to pull had plenty of root left and was “years from falling out.” So, the dentist not only misdiagnosed Mason, but he almost pulled the wrong tooth! I was mortified!! I KNEW something was wrong and I stupidly trusted that “professional.”

The new dentist also explained that an absess can affect how well (or not) Novacaine works, which explained why Mason could still feel the pain. I haven’t yet decided how to handle Dentist #1. Somebody definitely needs to hear about this!!

Mason is now on antibiotics for a week (I was right about that, too!!), and is scheduled to have his extraction tomorrow. They will use Novacaine and happy gas and we can be in the room for the entire procedure. The dentist said the entire appointment will take less than 30 minutes.

This week’s Masonism:

“What does your heart look like when somebody breaks it?

Big healing hugs to all,
Angela

P.S. I want to “follow” you!

ANGELA ON TWITTER
@AngelaHoy

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WRITE YOUR MEMOIRS IN 2013! WE’LL SHOW YOU HOW!

HOW TO REMEMBER, WRITE AND PUBLISH YOUR LIFE STORY! by Angela Hoy
Using Angela’s MEMORY TRIGGERS, recall memories that have been dormant for years, and record those memories in chronological order in your memory notebook. Using the memory notebook as your outline, write your autobiography! **Also works for biographies and memoirs.**