I have to take my daughter Zizi to visit her Dentist for a checkup. She started experiencing some ache on one of her lower tooth and even though the pain wasn't excruciating it was only right we got it sorted out to avoid more damage.
My daughter is just 5 years old and tooth ache is the last thing that I want her to experience. The pain alone can get to the brain and cause sleepless nights.
Our first visit to the dentist concerning the tooth ache was five months ago and because she was still a baby, they decided to start with the easiest treatment that will be less painful for her. Nevertheless the dentist told me that if after the treatment the pain continued that I have to bring her back for the other treatment which was obviously plan B.
The filling worked for just few months after which the ache returned back which ofcourse brought us back to square one. The treatment this time around was more expensive while the previous one was 20 thousand naira, this very one cost us 55 thousand naira.
One thing I like about her dentist was the way he carried my daughter along in whatever he want to do to her. He even wore her a hand glove and told her that she was a dentist too. My daughter beamed with happiness and got more comfortable with the whole process.
I have watched on the internet how doctors used various ways to get children comfortable, relaxed or even distracted so that they can work on them effectively. They put out so much energy into it and some even go to the extent of dancing.
My daughter was so relaxed and distracted by what was going all around her that she didn't feel the pain when the dentist gave her injection in her gum. I saw her went through some of the dental treatment that I went through during my own tooth extraction and she didn't shed a tear.
While I cried my eyes out
I was so impressed with how she handled the whole dental procedure and of course all thanks to her dentist. He was the real hero.
Today we went back for the second treatment because it's a procedure that will be carried out 3 times. We were told to come every Tuesday for three weeks. Her dentist wasn't on seat and so another dentist was the one that attended to my daughter.
The moment he began the procedure my daughter started yelling in pain. I have to rush to my daughter to console her. The nurses were so surprised and asked if it was the same super girl they saw last week that was now crying. I asked the dentist if he explained what he was doing to her but he said no and ofcourse he didn't even gave her a glove to wear that will make her cheer up and feel relaxed.
She must have been petrified with the whole procedure especially as the doctor didn't carry her along with whatever he was doing to her tooth.
The first dentist that attended to her told her that there was an ant on her tooth and he want to remove the ant. He went on to ask my daughter if he want him to remove the ant and my daughter said yes.
He worked diligently on her tooth without any kind of disturbance or tantrum from my daughter. The second doctor should do better next time but i doubt if I will ever let him attend to my daughter again.
We will be going back next week Tuesday for the final treatment and I just hope and pray that our favourite dentist will be on seat.
All pictures are mine