Trip to the Dentist

Today I took my 9 year-old daughter for her first visit to the dentist. It was an adventure into new territory for me. I'm 35 years-old and have managed to live this long without ever seeing a dentist myself. Unfortunately my daughter has some tooth issues that needed some attention. Thankfully they are only baby teeth, but they have been causing her some discomfort. Those boogers are going to have to go.

All of my children have really good oral hygeine and don't eat sweets or drink soda except on a few special occasions. Neither me nor my husband have ever had cavities (knock on wood), so regular trips to the dentist have seemed unnecessary, especially since we don't have dental insurance. But Hannah had some enamal issues with her top row of baby teeth. I'll blame it on consuming too much caffeine when I was nursing her. (There are several studies done on nursing rats involving caffeine and enamal deterioration.) It hadn't been a problem since her baby teeth (which were quite discolored) fell out on their own without causing any trouble. That is, except for these last two.

I had no idea what to expect, never having been to a dentist myself. I got to fill out the long questionaire about medical history, the kind that makes me look like a horrible neglectful mother to those people that don't know me. Questions concerning her previous visits to the dentsit (never), the name of her current doctor (not applicable), and the date of her last visit to a medical doctor (Jan. 1999). But she proved to be a happy kid. The hygienist commented on how polite and well-behaved she is. So I think everything's good and there won't be any visits from social services.

I was bit distressed by the fact that I wasn't allowed to accompany her during her appointment. I generally distrust doctors, so that's probably my own paranoia. Still, I like to have first-hand knowledge of what's going on behind the scenes. Why don't they want parents there? Is it to cover their own butt when it comes to liability issues? Probably my paranoia poking through again.

So here is proof again that I'm not AGAINST doctors. I think they are fabulous things to have access to when you need them. I just don't think we need them nearly as much as the rest of the mainstream public seems to believe.