We’ve been without insurance for almost a year now, but thankfully have a great naturopath and pay cash for most things (like the chiropractor) anyway. Eva needed new glasses finally, so we got her an updated exam and new prescription that should last her for another 2 years. Thankfully Amanda and Bethany haven’t exhibited any problems in that department.
I took the girls to the dentist for the first time since Amanda’s root canal last year, and thankfully Amanda appeared not to remember the place at all. She climbed right into the chair and was excited about the Snow White sunglasses they gave her to wear (against the bright lights). She calmly allowed the hygienist to clean her teeth while I sat next to her chair with Bethany on my lap and Eva observed quietly. She plopped down afterwards to say, “I did it all by myself! I like going to the dentist!”
A couple of weeks later was Eva’s turn, and she needed two fillings. But when I arrived, they pointed to a new sign declaring that parents were no longer permitted into the patient area. Something to do with HIPPA and OCSA regulations. I knew she needed the fillings and didn’t want to have to come back, so I allowed them to take Eva back without me. Almost immediately I regretted it. I told an assistant that Eva had never been in a dentist chair before and was afraid of loud noises (like the toilets in public restrooms). The day before Dave had been explaining the how the doctor was going to fill holes in her teeth, and she had kept anxiously asking if the drill was loud. I asked her to come get me if Eva seemed afraid or started crying. She assured me that wouldn’t be necessary.
Soon Eva came into the waiting room, a cotton swab in her mouth and eyes red from crying. The dentist told me she had done well until the last ten minutes, when she started to cry because the numbness scared her and she couldn’t feel her bottom jaw. I was kicking myself that I had allowed her to go through such a traumatic experience alone. As a child I was terrified of the dentist (I had a lot of teeth pulled), but my parents were always allowed to be nearby, hold my hand, or sometimes even have me sit in their lap.
When we got home, I called to complain at such an abrupt change of policy without notice. They told me that it was a regulation that they hadn't been enforcing up until now, but now they had to start complying with it (maybe they got a recent inspection?). If that's true, then all the dentists in the area will be forced to do the same thing. Supposedly it has to do with safety in case some dental tool fell and poked us, and the privacy of the patient in the next chair. But I’m willing to brave any potential hazards for the sake of my child, and they can always take a patient into another room to discuss treatment if they want that much privacy. These regulations are getting so ridiculous, they don't consider the unintended consequences, like a terrified little girl who doesn't understand why her mommy isn't there to tell her everything's going to be OK. I've since tried calling HHS and OSHA, and nobody knows what I'm talking about and keeps transferring me. Now I’m looking for whoever’s office door I need to pound on.
Eva is already showing signs of overcrowding and other dental problems which, in my case, led them to pull my baby teeth (they wouldn’t come loose, forcing the adult teeth to come in behind or in front of them). There’s no way in hell I’m going to let Eva suffer through another procedure without her mother by her side!
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