My son has always gone to the dentist just fine.  He’s even looked forward to the appointments. This last visit was a disaster. We found out he has a cavity. The dentist offered to fill it right then. That’s when everything fell apart. My son started screaming, went limp, slid out of the chair, and fled the room. Is this normal? I was mortified.

Sadie M.

Dear Sadie,

There could be a few things factoring into this.  First, it doesn’t sound like your dentist is skilled in working with children. Most children don’t do well when an unexpected medical treatment is suddenly thrust upon them.

He would have been better served if the dentist talked to him for a minute ahead of time to let him know what a cavity means and how easy it is to treat, in terms he could understand.

Talk to him about what he thought was going to happen. He may have heard a false horror story at school about what happens when you have a cavity at the dentist.

Maybe the dentist pulled out the needle for the anesthetic. That long puppy could scare a navy seal.  Dentists who work with children know ways of keeping that out of sight.

Sometimes children just can’t handle the idea of the needle anesthetic. Most pediatric dentists also offer sedation dentistry. This helps relax children. In fact, many of them completely sleep through the entire procedure.

I hope this helps.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Kevin Peck.