My Dentist, My Daughter, and Air Abrasion

Air Abrasion, a new technique my dentist offers, took me by surprise as my little girl had three teeth filled and returned to school sans a numb mouth by nine thirty in the morning.

Early on in her life, my daughter had a horrible experience with a dentist who pried her mouth open, yelled and huffed at her, and proceeded to bully her as she cried and screamed. The entire ordeal may have been two minutes long, but it scarred my daughter for life. She was about three at the time of the incident, and for each regular check up thereafter, the doctor (a different one of course) took one tiny step at a time to gain her trust.

The first appointment after this incident was dedicated only to an office tour, and each subsequent appointment was dedicated to another small success. It was three entire years and six appointments before she arrived for check-up and cleaning for which she actually allowed the dentist to give her a check up and cleaning. For this reason, I was utterly terrified for her when at an appointment when she was eight years old when the dentist suggested that we fix a few of her teeth that were lacking enamel. The teeth had finally reached a point that they needed to be repaired. I was sure this was going to set us back years in progress. The anesthetic alone was sure to have my little girl refusing to ever return for another regular check up.

I hid my concern in an effort to eliminate anticipation, the worst part of anything scary, and booked a morning slot promising that if all went well, we would have time for a special mama and daughter lunch before returning to school. She may have to have a liquid lunch, but I had to promise something.

To make matters worse, she had three offending teeth which would take at least two appointments to attack. The second appointment would not have a fighting chance if the first one was aberrant in the least. The dentist had pitched the idea of air abrasion to me, and we thought it sounded like a more probable success than traditional methods, so we booked and prayed.

Air abrasion is analogous to sandblasting the offending part of the tooth. My daughter hopped in the chair, opened her mouth, and let the doctor at it. To my relief and total surprise, the appointment took no longer than a routine visit to a hygienist (I know because I was in the next room having my teeth cleaned). Her doctor came to my exam room as my hygienist was finishing up. She was finished.

There had been no anesthetic, and no nitrous oxide. It went so smoothly that all three teeth were completed at once. No tears, no screaming, no setbacks. A bouncing happy little girl emerged from the exam room, chose a toy from the prize box, and began to plan her mommy/daughter lunch. The only problem was that the dentist visit had gone so well that it was still nine o'clock in the morning.

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