Our experience of getting cavities filled at Burg Children’s Dentistry

Yikes!  No one likes to hear the news “you have 4 cavities.” The hardest part is not even when it’s you that has to get cavities filled.  For me it’s way worse when it’s one of my children.  Especially young children that have little self control and/or tolerance for pain and uncomfortable situations.

About a month ago we found out that my 5 1/2 year old son needed to receive 4 fillings.  I was more than a little nervous for him since we barely made it though his simple 6 month check-up.  He is a little dramatic and there were some tears and screaming in that first appointment.  This time I vowed to myself to take some precautions.

My husband and I talked to him a LOT about his behavior and how we act at the dentist office.  We tried to prepare him to have the best experience possible.  We talked to him about how he’ll have to be a big boy and act like it.  He is the kind of kid that really benefits from getting a pep/warning talk.

We opted in for the oral sedative and the nitrous oxide (laughing gas).  Let’s face it, there are certain situations in life that can really be better if meds are involved.  I wanted my ultra-hyper son to be as calm as possible.  Burg Children’s Dentistry gave us the option of filling a prescription for a sedative.  I was instructed to give it to him an hour before his appointment.  I have to say that it was pretty mild and my son was still my son but he was just a lot more easy going.  We also paid the extra $20 for the laughing gas.  This, in my opinion, is totally worth it.  Skyler was happy and laughing a bit.  He was almost enjoying the experience.  He had to keep the mask on his face the entire appointment which he wasn’t that happy about, but the good definitely outweighed the bad.

Burg Children’s Dentistry has televisions on the ceiling.  Sometimes electronics really can help situations.  Long road trips and dental visits are some of those times.  Anything to distract from what is going on is good.

One of the things that really helped my son through his appointment is the bribe of Pokemon cards.  He really really really wanted these cards and I was more than willing to buy them for him if his behavior was good at the dentist.  We even told the dental assistant about the cards.  She talked to him during his appointment about the cards and pumped him up if he was acting good.  He is the type of kid that responds really well to praise and the staff at Burg Children’s Dentistry really was awesome with that.  They offered him encouragement which got him through the appointment.

I was so happy that the dentist worked really quickly.  He was able to fill all 4 cavities in just a few minutes.  I was shocked at how quickly the appointment went.  Originally they told us that we would have to have 2 separate appointments to get all the work done.  I was ecstatic when this didn’t end up being the case!

The prize drawer at the dentist is always a fun part for the kids.  Knowing that they get to pick out a prize makes the process of filling cavities a little more bearable.

All in all the appointment went really really well.  I was happy with my son’s behavior and I have to say the hardest part for Skyler was waiting for the numb lips to wear off.

Thanks Burg Children’s Dentistry for making this experience as easy as possible!  We hope we don’t have any more cavities in the future but if we do we know that we can get through it!