Those were my thoughts exactly, too. I was proven wrong.

My 14-year old son had a traumatic experience when he was 18 months. Fell off the bad and cut his face right under his nose. Took a few stitches to close the wound and was thoroughly traumatized by 2 nurses and myself holding him down while a doctor tried to stitch him up. It was horrible. Since then, he won't let any kind of a doctor near his face, except for my dentist. My dentist took the time to take my son on a Saturday when he was closed to repair a chipped tooth...he came in and opened up just for him, took the time to calm him down and went through everything with him. My son loves going to the dentist now. And we go there because he advertised himself in the phone book as a practicer of Gentle Dentistry.

 

I guess I've been lucky. I've never had a bad dentist experience. Except trying to get an appointment. Problem is- once a dentist gets a big list of clients, they won't "work you in." So- I'm never sure when I'm going to be home until it's too late to get an appointment. So I keep having to switch to a new dentist who is more flexible. Sheesh.

 

I don't mind going to the dentist, especially if I've been hurting for awhile. But the last time I went I had a molar that was cracked in half. So he first gave me a few shots and let them take effect, then he gave me a couple more and finally (without warning) stuck the needle right down the crack.

DAYAM!! I let out a yell and he said, "That'll get it in there where it'll do some good", I said/yelled, "It da*m well better!"

Of course I don't know if he could understand me with that huge rubber wheel chock they stick in your mouth.

Needless to say I was a happy man when he got that sucker out of there.

 

trux- I'm sorry for the pain but that story has me laughing... yeah, it dang well better!

 

How painful the shot is in the mouth depends on how good the dentist is, I have had 4 molars pulled (next to wisdom teeth they are the worst!), the first 2 pulls where from the same dentist, I never even felt the shots, the 3rd one pulled was a different dentist, an old cranky one, and his short hurt like @#%%, but it didnt take the novacaine long to kick in, rofl. the 4th one wasn't too bad, needle hurt a little but not bad.

Ohh, another lesson I learned the hard way, DONT EVER SMOKE RIGHT AFTER AN EXTRACTION!

 

Hilite for time off in El Paso, rent a car and drive over to Deming, NM, then turn south to Columbus, NM park the car across the street from the US Customs house, walk in the gate to the Mexican Border...tell them you are going to Fiero Clinic their in Palomas, walk about 3 blocks down....just past the "Pink Store" on the left side of the road..... See if you can get Dr. Maldonado to do your work.

I had 6 crowns done there by him.....and the cost of the work, the motel in Deming, and the car was less than 1/3 of what a US dentist would charge.

When he gave me the novacaine shots..... I could barely tell he did it.

My wife had a bunch of work done also. Both of us were very satisfied, and the clinic was as clean and modern as anything on our side of the border.

The "Pink Store" is unique and has a really good restaurant in it. Worth the visit.

 

That there just proves that you don't have to make a child do something you just have to find a way to let the child do it. We as parents sometimes don't take the time in this hurry up world. We all are at fault no one is excluded. We are even less patients when it comes to animals. I've seen horse people beat a horse to get it into a trailer. If they would have taken the time to teach the horse will it will go in by itself. Every time you hold, force, or beat anything it will associate it with fear. You just have to come up with a way to teach the problem with time. Most will not do it. Very glad your dentist did that. He was very thoughtful and kind. That goes further then one thinks. We have stopped looking at things through others eyes.
You dentist is 1 in a thousand or more.

 

When I lived in NM for awhile there were alot of people crossing over for dental work

 

I've never been traumatized by a Dentist. However, that's ironic I should see this Thread today of all days. I just went to a new dentist today. Haven't been for 2 years simply because I didn't take the time to go to one on the few days I have off after being out for weeks at a time.

My parents spent a fortune on my mouth while I was growing up by paying for braces and surgeries. As an adult I'd like to keep my teeth looking good. Hence, I finally forced myself to make an appt. before I got home so I could get into a Dentist during my long 4 day hometime.

I called my Benefits Dept. and she sent me a list of Dentists in my area. I had already called the first name she gave me on the phone. Which I don't think was the most prudent thing to have done. Today when going to get my mail I saw a list of Dentists with my Benefits Card. I guess I wouldn't have asked many questions anyway. But after what transpired today I definitely will now!

When I arrived I had a 40 minute wait. After waiting they explained to me that I would have 18 pictures [xrays] of my mouth taken including pictures of the root system. I have always had 4 xrays only in the past and assumed it would be something like 6 or 7 xrays. Because the 4 xrays in the past gave them many different views of my mouth. Heck no, it was 18 xrays. I have a medium child's size mouth and I kept gagging. To make matters worse, I have severe asthma and the woman kept telling me to breath through my nose. I said, I would if my nose wasn't stuffed up.

Finally after enduring 11 xrays I said, I have to stop. I can't breath and I've had enough. It took her 20-25 minutes for this torture. Finally, another woman came in and did the last 7 without the huge contraption the other woman had used and had someone hit the switch on the wall so she didn't have to walk back and forth. The other woman had to walk back and forth to accomplish the xrays. Wow, I was not expecting this and told the Dentist you should inform people what is going to transpire. My Mother worked in a Dental Office for over 20 years and I can assure you I've never heard of 18 xrays. They told me it's something they do every 5 years. I said, Well that's good because I wouldn't come back if I had to endure this every 6 months to a year.

After that, I assumed I would have my teeth cleaned. Oh heck no, they said I had to make another appt. to have them cleaned. Wow, perhaps they should tell new patients that in advance. Particularly, one who is only in town 4 days a month!

So my suggestion would be to call your Benefits person and get a list of "Preferred Provider Dentists", then call them and ask all pertinent questions that are necessary for you to make a determination.

I personally think Referrals from Friends and Family would be the best. 8) :roll:

Good luck and do ask questions, I've never had to before. I always thought a Dentist was a Dentist. Not after this experience....

 

18 x-rays?!? Are you kidding? How safe are 18 x-rays?!? Are you growing an extra arm or an eye in the middle of your forehead with all that uneeded radiation? Man, that's just nuts!

4 is all that are needed. I get them once a year.