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11/09/06: Julianna's Story
Our four-year-old daughter Julianna has had to endure seven or eight surgeries including four major oral surgeries. Julianna developed a severe fear of nurses, dentists, doctors, and would not let anyone near her mouth. She would get extremely anxious and apprehensive prior to going to her normal checkups and would thrash about wildly if someone tried to pull her from her mother’s arms or tried to force open her mouth. After a tearful fit at a wonderful dentist in a different city from where we live, we were able to get a single usable x-ray, which unfortunately revealed three cavities. So back to the hospital we went to get (of all things) cavities filled under general anesthesia.
My wife and I did not know what to do. We were forced to deal with the vicious cycle of having a child who did not want her teeth or mouth touched and who was going to need to establish good oral hygiene or we were going to need more oral procedures causing even more apprehension.
Then something wonderful happened. Dr. Johnson who had tried several times previously to make a breakthrough with Julianna, said that she had an idea. Dr. Johnson asked us if we would like to have Julianna watch as she cleaned her son’s teeth. I did not expect much from this, but I was willing to try anything. As usual, Julianna was frightened and nervous as we dragged her into another doctor’s office. We tried to tell her that this time all that she had to do was just watch a little boy get his teeth cleaned. But she was clearly petrified and firmly attached to my arms like Velcro.
Dr. Johnson’s son, who is younger than Julianna, is completely comfortable in his mother’s office and promptly jumped into the chair. Julianna picked up on this and became cautiously curious almost immediately. She watched from my arms as the little boy eagerly asked for the suction and the rinse, both of which have been given very kid friendly names by Dr. Johnson. Both mother and son were clearly having fun and this familiar type of mother child play was quite disarming. The little boy began to giggle during the actual cleaning and polishing as the menacing air tools whined away. Deep down inside I still get a little nervous just being in a dentist’s office because the smells and sounds are so powerful at bringing back the memories of my own nerves and fears as a child. But as I looked at my daughter I could see that she was no longer fearful and was now intently watching every single move and action.
Then it happened. Dr. Johnson pulled out some very pink fluid that her son eagerly swished and spit. This fluid turned his entire mouth pink. Julianna smiled and laughed a little. Dr. Johnson finished her son’s cleaning and then casually asked Julianna if she wanted to sit in the dentist’s chair. Julianna immediately tightened her grip on my arm. I felt quite reassured as this was what I was expecting, but after a couple of seconds she actually let go and moved over to Dr. Johnson’s chair on her own. I was more than astonished, as this was completely voluntary. Apparently, she was not going to miss out on her chance at getting a pink mouth and tongue of her own. So after a little coaxing and a quick move from the chair to Dr. Johnson’s lap my daughter finally let someone look in her mouth, touch her teeth, and poke around in her mouth. And I am quite sure a tear rolled down my cheek.
In retrospect it seems like such a simple solution to a very serious problem. Watching someone else made everything seem familiar and not as scary. She knew exactly what each tool looked like before it was inserted into her mouth. The smiling little boy was such a powerful image that she could not help being less apprehensive. After trying out most of the tools and getting her pink mouth and tongue, I watched my daughter give Dr. Johnson a big hug and a smile. We got up to leave but not before Julianna got one last look in the mirror at her pink tongue.
I tried to thank Dr. Johnson but found no words to express my astonishment and gratitude.
We scheduled another appointment in a week so that we could reinforce the positive experience. This appointment was still very casual with no expectations set ahead of time. Julianna insisted that she sit on Dr. Johnson’s lap for the entire appointment and although it was still not a full cleaning, this time I did not stay in the room. It seems counter-intuitive that my leaving the room would make my daughter more comfortable but she only momentarily whined while I left. When they brought her out she was smiling and holding a toy.
Two appointments later, Julianna received her first full cleaning and sat in the chair. Dr. Johnson was able to get a good inspection and found some small cavities near to the ones that were previously filled under general anesthesia just six months earlier. We scheduled another appointment and a couple of days later my daughter got her cavities filled in the office – absolutely amazing!
-Alex Krinsky, father of Julianna
Posted by: The Dental Diva
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