Is this normal? - Pediatric dentist office (New question #35) - Page 2

[AlwaysByMySide]

I personally won't allow my child into a room with any "stranger" adult by themselves. I don't know why this seems to be the new trend, but I take my business elsewhere.

[MadameXCupcake]

Originally Posted by Contrariety

It never even occurred to me that an office wouldn't allow parents to accompany children!

Thats what I was going to say.. I don't know how a mama would be okay with that.

[icxcnika]

(One of my kids just had a cleaning and checkup today! Their dentist is awesome!)

Our pediatric dentist not only allows parents back in the exam area, but encourages it. There are comfy benches and toys, and siblings are welcome too. The dentist shows us the x-rays and explains them to us, and he and the hygenists ask us how to pronounce our children's names and if there is any special information they need to know. And yes, my oldest has had dental work done with nitrous, and my husband stayed with him the whole time.

If I were in your position I would definitely find a new pediatric dentist...there are some wonderful ones out there, and it's worth it even if it's a little more of a drive to get there, since most likely you'll only be there a few times a year anyhow! Hope this helps!

[A&A]

Our ped. dentist lets parents go in with kids under age 8 but not over age 8.

[momofmine]

It happens, yes, but I do not think it is normal OR acceptable. I would NEVER EVER leave my child, even over 8, where he could be subject to medical treatment that I knew nothing about. Period. You are not being overprotective at all.

There is a pediatric dentist in my city who does that, they will not allow the parents in the room, and I think it is absolutely insane. They also use some kind of anesthesia (not sure what exactly) in the office and a child actually died from it. I'm not sure what their policy is now, though I'll bet some things have changed after that.

We see a pediatric dentist also, and I think they usually sort of "guide" you in the direction of letting the child go in alone if they are older, but for my 9 year old I always say, thank you, but I'll come too. But with a little one the parent is most definitely in there. With a 3 year old for example, they actually have you sit and let the child lay back on your lap for the dentist to look at their teeth if it's the first trip to the dentist or if they are scared or uncomfortable.

You did the right thing!

ETA: Our dentist actually does not do any work in the office that requires anesthesia. He goes to the hospital and does it there, just in the event of any kind of emergency, and so that the anesthesia is administered by an anesthesiologist.

[angrypixiemama]

We found something similar with a popular ped dentist around here. At the time I was calling for an appointment, my daughter was 19 months old. They sent paperwork for me to sign, saying I understood I could not accompany her. Uh, I don't think so. I have issues about leaving my child with anyone I don't know, especially when my child is too little to advocate for themselves, etc. My mother went with us into the dentist's office until we were much older, and I was happy to have her there.

I called that dentist and explained to them that I thought their policies were unacceptable, most especially for a young toddler. The receptionist seemed surprised that I would question their policy. So we went elsewhere.

[Nikki Christina]

my kids LOVE their dentist!

I would not go to a dentist that would not let me go back!
my 2 oldest girls have had teeth issues since they got teeth. when they where real little i held them on my lap during cleanings & fillings.
now they happily hop up there without me. my 3 year old just had a filling done without any kind of med & she did great.

[Mama Poot]

Ummmm NO. I take my kids to the same pediatric dentist I went to for 18 years and they *always* want the parents to be with the child during procedures. I had to have 12 of my baby teeth pulled because my permanents were growing in on top of them, and my mom was always there in the room holding my hand. There were no forms like that, and there's no way Dr G. would work on a kid who was too scared. Definitely weird!

[Irishmommy]

My dentist has no problems with an adult being there - just as well. But when dd1 (14) got her last checkup, I was in the waiting room with dd2 - I figured she was old enough, and she was fine with it.

But the hygeinest either didn't read the chart or ignored where it said no flouride, and gave her a treatment. I was fuming.

[greeny]

I'm glad I'm not alone in my feelings! I'm also glad we left, and dh was really glad too. He said he'd have been horrified if I'd stayed and let the kids go back alone.

[paphia]

I'm so thankful for this thread. It has eased my fears about finding a dentist for my dd. I heard about restraints and it scared me so much, but now I know I wouldn't have to settle for that sort of treatment.

[cadejaxellamom]

My children's ped dentist (who they LOVE) lets the child make the decision (my boys are 4 and 7 and have both been going since they were 2, I have a daughter who is 10 months, so it will be another year or so before she goes). If they want mom or dad with them we are more than welcome to come and if they want to go by themselves, that is also ok. Both of my boys very first visit they wanted me back with them and they both sat in my lap during the exam, since then they have both wanted to go back by themselves (I think it makes them feel big ) My oldest has had a couple of cavities filled and they used nitrous but he even wanted to go back and do that by himself! They have a tv on the ceiling and headphones (so they don't hear the drill as much I guess) and he played a play station game the whole time! Even after those 3 cavities he has had filled, he still loves going to the dentist!!!

[cottonwood]

Our local pediatric dentist also tries to get parents to stay in the waiting room, but I said no way am I going to trust people I don't know being alone with my child (even if my child was okay with it, which was not the case,) so they relented. They wanted my money more than they wanted me to stay ignorant, I guess. So I got to see for myself how they operate. I was shocked that they didn't seem to understand the most elemental things about working with children in an uncomfortable situation. We didn't go back.

The dentist we're with now is a family dentist and has no problem with the parents staying with the kids.

[vendaga]

I think that's horrible, you should never let your kid see a doctor, nurse, dentist, even a teacher if they refuse to let you go there. It's your legal right. My mom went into the office with me everytime I went to the dentist's until I was about sixteen, same with the doctor. In fact with the doctor she went in with me until I was eighteen for some things. The only time she wasn't allowed in was when I had to have x-rays. I don't think it's normal at all, and I would look for another dentist. I mean at 3 and 5 there are questions that a dentist or doctor might have that the kids can't answer.

[greeny]

New question: I'm taking the kids to dh's and my dentist, who is actually a family dentist and sees kids. I will be allowed in the exam room!

But when I made the appointment the receptionist said that their normal procedure is to 1) take x-rays and 2) clean the teeth.

Are x-rays necessary for a first visit?

[beanma]

Our ped dentist is pretty cool. They have it set up so they can do both kids at once and I can be back there in between both chairs if need be. I refused X-rays until I thought dd1 could handle them. She just had her first a week ago at age 7. They were fine with that. If they had seen something in the cleaning that they needed to investigate more I would have okayed them, but dd1 has enough dr/dentist phobia that I didn't want to push it any sooner than I thought necessary. The dentist was totally fine with that. They've never even wanted to x-ray dd2 (almost 5 now). I think this was their third dental visit? maybe 4th...

[fireant]

I'm going through the same thing with my 2 year old daughter.

My dentist is fine but I thought maybe she should see a ped. dentist.

I haven't been able to find one that will let me be with her so we'll go with my dentist instead.

I can't believe that so many dentists think that I would be ok with sending my toddler off and alone with a stranger behind a closed door!

How can I consent to things if I don't know what's happening?

[Lollybrat]

Originally Posted by greeny

I took my kids (3 and 5) to the dentist for the first time today. It's a pediatric dental office, pretty popular around here.

First, they wanted me to sign a form saying that they could restrain the kids and/or use nitrous oxide if/when they needed to. I refused to sign, and said that we'd decide what to use when the need arose.

Then, they refused to let me go back into the closed-door exam rooms with my kids. I asked if they could make an exception, and they said no. No parents are allowed back with the kids.

So we left.

Is that normal??? I was horrified, but perhaps I'm just overprotective....

The pediatric dentists in my area are like this too. I was amazed when I received their policy in the mail. I cancelled my son's appointment.

Most of the "family dentists" in my area will not see children under 6 or special needs kids. So I had a very hard time finding one who would see my 4 year old with high functioning autism. I pretty much got the list of providers from our insurance company and called each one until I found someone who would see him.

Luckily I found a great dentist who is wonderful with my son. He does a "no goals exam", meaning that they do the parts of the exam that the child will tolerate and do not push for more. So last week my son had just the most basic of exams. They looked at his teeth closely, counted them, and checked for decay and any loose ones. They showed him the "special tooth tickler" for cleaning his teeth, but when he refused to try it ("no thank you"), they put it away. The dentist said that they would build up to a cleaning and that he does not expect to try x-rays for at least a couple of years.

[momofmine]

Originally Posted by greeny

New question: I'm taking the kids to dh's and my dentist, who is actually a family dentist and sees kids. I will be allowed in the exam room!

But when I made the appointment the receptionist said that their normal procedure is to 1) take x-rays and 2) clean the teeth.

Are x-rays necessary for a first visit?

That is your choice entirely. If you don't want x-rays, just say, "Please just clean the teeth" as many times as you need to. If they say that they need to do x-rays to see cavities, etc, you can always just say that you'd prefer not to, and they can just physically examine the teeth for cavities. I do not do the routine x-rays for my kids.

They may say things like, "Well, we can catch the cavity earlier, etc,etc", but I don't believe this anymore. I actually see a holistic dentist for myself who does not even use flouride, no amalgam fillings, etc, and when I first went they wanted to do this full x-ray panel on all my teeth. Well, I didn't want to do it, but they talked me into it. Then, he examined my teeth, and then he wanted to use this thing called a Diagno-dent (sp?) to see if I had a cavity on a few teeth that looked questionable when he examined me. I thought to myself, well then what the heck was the x-ray for? If you couldn't see it on the x-ray then leave it alone.

I also think that it's possible for cavities to heal, so maybe we don't want to go filling every tiny cavity right away. These are just my experiences, and what I am choosing to do now. No x-rays for now.

[Absinthia]

Originally Posted by greeny

New question: I'm taking the kids to dh's and my dentist, who is actually a family dentist and sees kids. I will be allowed in the exam room!

But when I made the appointment the receptionist said that their normal procedure is to 1) take x-rays and 2) clean the teeth.

Are x-rays necessary for a first visit?

Necessary to detect small cavities especially between the teeth and potential infections. Not necessary to detect obvious cavities.