Dylan's Magic Teeth

I took Dylan to a chain dental office yesterday to get his cavities filled.
I mistakenly thought this was the only place that took his insurance. It turns out I was wrong. But I digress...

I had already cancelled and rescheduled the appointment once, I was hesitant to bring him back because I didn't like the place on our first visit.
Note to self: Listen to that voice.

I even considered cancelling yesterday's appointment because it was Bob's birthday, and we were all hanging out together having fun. But, I thought, he has to get these cavities filled. It just had to be done.

When we got there the office wasn't quite as crowded and noisy as it was the first time. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad?

They took Dylan back to the exam room to take x-rays. When they called me back to show me the x-rays they had once again left him alone in the exam room. I didn't like that at all. He is four. He has no common sense. He can't be left alone with sharp objects. Duh.

Then the alleged dentist showed me his x-ray and pointed out what they'd do. Her accent was so thick (Eastern European? Central American?) I couldn't quite understand everything she said. I heard "this cavity might be bad" blah blah blah "might have to do a baby root canal" blah blah blah "caps"

Here is where my brain started twitching. She kept saying they wouldn't KNOW if they'd have to do the baby root canal until they started, but it felt like she was saying here is the easiest way to do this, and we're going to do it. I should have said, no caps. NO CAPS. But I didn't. What do I know about dentistry?

Then they wrapped Dylan up in a papoose and I could see him starting to freak out. I should have ended it then. But I didn't. It had to be done. He can't walk around with cavities!

They told me to go back and wait in the waiting room. I already felt uneasy and called my husband to tell him I was not feeling good about this. But what could we do? It had to be done.

About 45 minutes later I saw them walking him down the hallway. How was he walking around? Weren't they supposed to have knocked him out? Turns out, they did NOT knock him out.
When he saw me, he burst into hysterical tears. I knelt down and hugged him, he was soaked with sweat. Hair all wet, clothes damp. Poor kid must have really been upset. I looked at his face. It was sprinkled with tiny red dots around his eyes and cheeks and down his neck. Broken capillaries.
He was yelling and crying so badly, he'd broken about a thousand capillaries.
What the hell did they do to him?

Then I looked at his teeth.
Three shiny silver teeth, all right up front.
They turned my son into a cyborg.

He was still hysterical. So with no aftercare instructions or medication, we left. I drove straight home in tears.
Once home I gave him a dosage of children's Motrin and made him sit and relax. Then I lost it.

His hysterical tears transferred to me. WHY didn't I trust my feelings? WHY did I let him go through with this? WHY did they put SILVER CAPS on his FRONT TEETH?

I spent the rest of the night at some level of that self-flagellating anger and despair. I barely ate dinner, didn't even consider a piece of birthday cake. I cried on and off.
I went online and printed out a list of every dentist in the county that takes our insurance vowing that I'd get this put right to save my soul from the sure damnation it was facing for allowing such a crime against my child.

Dylan came up to me said "I love you mom" Aw, I love you too baby. "But...you shouldn't have taken me to the dentist."

Whaaaaaah!

He started calling them his "magic teeth" because as he said they just put water on his old teeth and they turned silver. Uh, yeah.

I cried myself to sleep and had torturous dreams of plumbers wrenches and toothless grins.

This morning I woke up and started calling dentists.
I'm still waiting to hear back from one to see if she can replace the silver caps with the white ones. It seems like it's possible if not probable. It HAS to be. I can't have a cyborg baby with magic teeth.