On Friday Isaac went to the dentist and had his two small cavities filled. I had to wait outside in the waiting room, so I don’t really know what all went on in there. But I can say that when I was being brought back in, I asked the lady “How did he do?” and she said, “He did fine, just noisy.” Which I took to mean, “just screaming all the while.” And indeed, when I got to him Isaac was sobbing and trembling and really in quite a state. He asked for George, which is a steam roller Friend of Thomas (FOT), and which we had agreed he would get after the dentist. So I gave him George and we sat there for a little while. The dentist said that Isaac really didn’t like the noise that any of the machines made, and as soon as something turned on he would start to scream. I had hoped that the nitrous oxide would have made him a little more relaxed, but apparently not.
Afterwards, the dentist suggested that we should go and get a milkshake, which seemed to be as good a plan as any. So we went over and got a pink ice cream cone (pink is back… more about this later) and sat in the car, having a picnic in the rain. Overall Isaac recovered well. At times I felt concerned to hear him say things like, “The dentist held my body down.” And “I didn’t like that buzzy thing that squirts water.” And also later on in the day these red specks (sort of like a rash) appeared on Isaac’s cheeks, and around his neck. I called the dentist about it, wondering if he could be reacting to some medication or something like that. And after we talked for a while, he decided that it was just broken blood vessels from crying so hard. Now, I’ve seen Isaac do some serious hard core crying, but he’s never broken blood vessels before.
Was it worth it? Will the emotional fall-out from the ordeal be worse than the cavities themselves? I really don’t know. At no time did I get the feeling that just leaving the open cavities there for the next four years or so (until his big teeth come in) was really an option. But anyway, it’s done now. And on the plus side, it was very fast. I think the whole thing took less than half an hour.
I gained a little more insight into the experience yesterday, when Isaac set up a one-act play about it. The dramatis personae were a small plastic dragonfly (representing Isaac, the patient, as voiced by me with careful coaching as to my lines) and a small plastic scorpion (the dentist, as voiced by Isaac).
Dragonfly: (struggling) I want to get free!
Scorpion: (Firmly) Be still! Be calm! (bodily pins the dragonfly down)
Dragonfly: Let me free! Let me free! (trying to get lose)
Scorpion: Be calm! Be still! Stay still!
Dragonfly: (crying) I want to get free!
Scorpion: It’s all done. You can go now. (suddenly releases the dragonfly)
Dragonfly: (surprised) It’s all done?
Scorpion: Yes, it’s all done now. Wasn’t that easy?
Dragonfly: (still whimpering a little) Yes. Where’s my new George?
Repeat.
Repeat.
So perhaps this is basically what it was to him. Short, and intense, but then done. He never mentioned anything like “that hurts” or “the dentist ouched me,” so I don’t think that pain was an issue. Also he has no recollection of having a shot (when they gave him the novocaine-type stuff), so perhaps at least the nitrous oxide helped dull these memories a bit. The dentist also said that it would distort his perception of time and make it seem that he had been in the chair much more briefly than he actually had. So that seems to have worked well.
Anyway, it’s done! We don’t have to think about it again for six months, when he will go in for a regular check-up.