Another Child Abused At The Hands of Dental Staff.

This is Ginny's story:

Recently I took my 5 y/o son to a Pediatric Dentist in Overland Park, KS. I begged for something before hand for him, knowing that he would be very scared.

They called in Valium 10mg, 30 min before his appt. He was needing 2 fillings that were side by side. They also advised me before hand that Nitrous gas was going to be used.

Once the gas started, he began to get a combative, screaming, and kicking. He begged for me to help him. It felt like a dagger to the heart.

They said that they would need to use a papoose board, with my permission, so that they didn't drill into his cheek or gum. I advised them that he was a little claustrophobic and wouldn't like it.

They said they needed to finish the procedure. He was screaming no no no and was asking them to wait because he had to tell me something, ("kids try using all tactics", is what I was told).

I kept talking calmly to him telling him it would be over soon, and it was ok and mom was here. When they turned it into a safety issue, you think you are doing the right thing.

Watching your child be strapped down, with a 130-140# tech laying over them, screaming, nearly throwing up, you feel like a criminal & a failure as a parent.

He kept saying he couldn't breath, and the tech kept telling him that if he was crying he was breathing. I am a RN, and would never treat my patients like this. You are trained safety first, but he is my child and I knew that they couldn't leave his procedure half done.

I asked several times if they had used lidocaine, they said that he wasn't hurting he was just mad. He was never given local anesthesia.

I was told by a tech that if I felt that it would help they could try it but it may interact with the Valium, and cause a worse issue than what we had.

I try not to let office staff know when I go somewhere what my profession is because then they seem to treat you differently. When it was all over almost 45 minutes later, he was soaked in sweat from his head to his socks.

The doctor was calm during all of this and never raised her voice once. The techs though had this look on their faces like they were going to control this child, the first one yelled out the door for help then two more came in.

Over all there was the dentist, and 4 techs in the room. He is very very strong and kept getting his hands out of the restraint and pinched them. He was asked not to pinch because it wasn't nice. I wanted to tell them put yourself in his shoes, I would be scratching your eyeballs out of your head if you were holding me down, so get over it!

Never again will anything like that happen again to any of my children. My daughter went 1 1/2 years ago and had a baby eye tooth pulled that wasn't ready to come out but because all of her perm teeth were being twisted, had to be pulled. That was a different doctor same facility.

I fired that doctor from seeing my children because of her treatment. It took me over a year of talking and reassuring my daughter that the next experience would be better, for her to return to the dentist.

And after my sons appt. and not using lidocaine, I was discussing it with my husband and I truly do not think that she was ever given lidocaine or any other anesthesia except for nitrous gas.. I am appalled.

I am calling Monday morning to ask what her anesthesia was for that appt. She is 9 and is to start braces in 2 months at this facility. If I find that she wasn't given local when they pulled her tooth, I will make a decision to turn them in to the ADA and also to transfer care.

It is up to us to protect our children and I have failed both of them in this department. If anyone feels that it is wrong, it probably is and they need to remove their child from the situation.

I will never be afraid to cause waves again. If we don't protect them who will?