I brought my 7 year old daughter in for an emergency tooth extraction. The visit went well until it was time to actually pull her tooth out. She was given a mild sedative and I watched her receive... More
I brought my 7 year old daughter in for an emergency tooth extraction. The visit went well until it was time to actually pull her tooth out. She was given a mild sedative and I watched her receive the novacaine shot. I waited with her for awhile, however, I had another child in the waiting area and felt squeamish about watching the actual extraction so when the implements were picked up, I excused myself and waited in the waiting room. I heard a lot of screaming and realized it was my daughter. I was frantic but thought there was nothing I could do and she was just scared. I asked reception if I could go back when the screaming quieted to wailing. When I got to the chair, my daughter was just being escorted to me by a dental assistant who said she wasn't in pain, only scared of the procedure. I looked at my daughter who wailed over the gauze, "It hurts, Mommy, it really hurts!" The assistant insisted again that she wasn't in any pain and scolded my daughter for not clamping down on the cotton gauze. My daughter is not characterized by lying; she is only known for exaggerating the truth or leaving out details when it is to her advantage. In times of distress, I can trust her to tell me the full truth so I was quite confused about the two conflicting reports. I gathered the two kids and hustled out the door because my daughter's wailing was unnerving the other patients and waiting room inhabitants. She wailed all the way home (approx 10 min.) The novacaine finally numbed her tooth soon after we arrived and she fell asleep. When the realization hit that my daughter had a full tooth extraction with nothing more than a mild tranquilizer, I was livid! It took me some time to decide what course of action I would take and decided against a legal one and hope that the parents of any patients of Dr. Buda will hover near and insist on having the Doctor "tap the tooth" to make sure it is numb. I told this story to my dentist and she insisted that she would take great care of my daughter and not perform any procedure until fully numb. My daughter has had three appointments with her new dentist and she and the assistants agree that she is a remarkably patient child for the procedures she has had since.
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