Furious: My baby was banished at the dentist

If they don't have a FB site, your status would work wonders...

 

Wow! I would never go there again!
I took my youngest to get a filling done in Joplin when she was 5, that man scared her to death and told her that he was going to pull out all her teeth if she did not calm down.... hey... he did not even numb her or give her gas to keep her calm! I was so mad that it took all i could do to get stay quiet until he was done.... he drilled a hole in her tooth...

We moved to Tx and I found a GREAT office that deals only with KIds... and the next time she had to do any thing they tried to do in office, but because of dd fears they had to do it in the hospital. All because this dr in joplin scared her to death!

A baby is a baby! come on!

 

I think I would write a letter to the my local newspaper how you were treated and all.

Some people got brains in there hind end.

 

Some businesses have an option to leave feedback when you google their name.

 

Funny you mention FB. Several of my friends, all on their own (I really had zero to do with it) have started a campaign on their FB page.

 

I left a review on Yelp. I'll be looking for local places, too. DH suggested informing the BBB, but I don't think it's really a BBB issue, is it?

 

Well, they seemed to target your baby. Age discrimination? Forcing you to wait in a cold location with a child under 2 years old, forcing you to leave your other minor children unattended. I think the BBB should take note.

 

What about CPS? Is that not a form of child abuse (or am I just being really sensitive about how they treated you guys)?

Glad your friends started the FB pages... I hope they get the message that their actions were over the edge.

 

Don't they have toys in the reception area? When it says "kid friendly", that's one of the first things I would expect!

 

They had a small table with about 5 books, 1 puzzle (that was missing more than half the pieces) and one of those bead-on-wires thingies that every waiting room in the nation has. That's it. AND.. Get this! This whole "kids area" was right by the door to the exam rooms! If they're so dang worried about kid noise traveling to the exam rooms, they should have had the table as far from the door as possible (it's a large waiting room).

I did move away from the toy area after the first few times she scolded Micah for his noise. I was trying to keep his noise away from that door.

 

On another note regarding leaving the other kids unattended: they don't allow parents to accompany the children into the exam rooms. Our regular dentist does, but I don't know which is normal.

 

Yes, this is becoming more and more "normal". I've heard some say that the insurance is forcing this issue...sterile environment and that sort of crap. It's not a concern for me as mine are older, and when mine were little, I took them to the dentist that I had been going to for YEARS. I knew his manner, and felt comfortable with both him and his partner around kids. And his hygenists, too. But we've changed dentists since then. Our new one I THINK allows them in.

 

I wondered about this. We won't take our kids somewhere where they won't allow the parents in the room. I don't argue, we just go elsewhere. My thinking is I don't send them into the pediatrician/family physician without me or DH along, WHY would I send them back into the dental exam/treatment room?

We left our last pediadontist because of the staff not being organized. Among other things: their exam/cleaning area has three seats. They permit parents, but not siblings in the area. Okay, so for three appointments over 18 months, I requested that all three of my children be scheduled simultaneously so DH wouldn't need to take a day off work (at the beginning of the time period, our youngest was younger than yours). Three times, three requests, and all three times I called ahead to be sure we were all set to have the kids seen at the same time...and three times they managed to screw it up and try to take the children back one at a time and prevent me from bringing the others with me. <eyeroll>

Hopefully, you'll find a good new dentist when you move. We ended up switching our children to my DH's dentist. It's not "family friendly" in appearance, but BOY are they in practice and manner. They schedule the boys at the same time, don't care if I walk from room to room, don't care if the boys go to sit with/visit each other if one or more finishes earlier than the others. Each room has computer monitors that show xrays, pictures of staff, other material. Everyone is happy to explain anything to the kids, let them handle all the dental models (that I wouldn't let them touch because I was sure they'd cost a fortune). It's a very calm, kind place. They may not bill as family friendly, but they're far more so than the last place we went that touted themselves as such.

 

I love the fact that the girls dentist wants and encourages the parents to be with the child.

 

The first time we took dd13 to the dentist when she was little, they didn't allow parents. I thought dh was going to walk out right then and there, but we stayed. We NEVER went back. The dentist we use now allows parents in if they insist but discourages it. Supposedly they think the kids behave better without a parent in the room. I'm more comfortable with the kids going by themselves at the new dentist because they're older and because the rooms are open so that you can stand at one end of the hall and see everything that's going on in every room all the way down.
Dd13 has to use a different dentist because the ped. dentist only takes kids up to age 12, so I took her somewhere else recently. They wouldn't let me go back with her, so dh said not to take her back. I probably would have chosen not to go with her anyway because I had 3 other kids in the waiting room. But to not be allowed to go back is totally different to me. KWIM?
I think it's a very bad idea for ANYONE to be alone with a child where other people can't see. I wouldn't want to put myself in that position and I don't want to tell my child it's okay to go into an isolated place with an adult.

 

Our dentist has an extra chair in the rooms incase parents want to sit with the child. Ems is 14 and I still sit with her.

 

This thread is making me appreciate our dentist more and more. I went back with the kids when they were little, but never felt I needed to. There are always more than one adult in the room at a time. There are only partial walls between chairs, so the feeling is more open and accessible, but still a level of privacy. It is not uncommon for our dentist to have one of us seated on one side of the partition and squirt a stream of water up and over having it land squarely on the other person's nose. :lol: He knows we appreciate a bit of fun during our appointments or he would never dream of doing that. Anyway, love the guy and his staff.

Now the orthodontist is another story....they move the kids in and out of there like cattle. There is a system of chairs close to the very large, open mult-chair exam room and parents are not allowed at all unless you are summoned. If my child was younger I wouldn't be having it, but to keep the flow going there is only room for the patient.

 

You hit the nail on the head. I agree.

 

I was at the dentist on Monday with my little girl. There was a 12 year oldish boy in the waiting room. He was called in and the mother continued to sit in her chair. The lady calling them back asked her if she wanted to come and she said she had the baby (in carseat) and the lady told her it was no problem and she could bring them all back. I've never been to a dentist that didn't allow me to go back with my kids. I have been to a dentist that threw a fit at me though I wouldn't just go along with whatever he wanted to do with my son.

 

A friend left a calm and rather nice (nicer than they deserve. ha!) message on their FB page asking them to respond to the situation. Their response was to delete her post and ban her from the page.