Hyrum's Dental Trauma

At the end of March, I took Hyrum in for his regular teeth cleaning. I mentioned to the dentist that I had noticed a small dark spot on one of Hyrum’s front teeth. We are not perfect at brushing, but we are pretty darn good, so I was disappointed to find out that he had a couple of small cavities, and one that was fairly deep. It is so hard for kids to get cavities filled, so I was dreading it.

Thankfully, Hyrum really liked going to the dentist because it made him feel like a big kid, so he was super tough the whole time. He didn’t cry one time during the procedure, and the dentist said that he was the best four year old they had ever worked on. I was so proud of him!

A couple of days later, Hyrum started waking up crying during the night. That was highly unusual, so I wasn’t sure what was going on. The dentist said that they tooth might be a bit sensitive for a while, but after a few days, I knew something was wrong. When I called, they said it might be infected, so they prescribed an antibiotic to take for a few days.

When I took him back in, the dentist decided he needed to go back in and clean out the infection better. After numbing him up, they started to drill. Hyrum immediately started freaking out, screaming, and shaking. It was such a different experience than the last time, so I kept asking if he was really numb. The dentist gave him a bit more of the medicine, and then started drilling again. He was screaming and flailing, and all I could do was hug him and help to hold him down. I was a mess and was trying hard to keep from crying myself. I didn’t know what to do.

When the dentist was finally done, I was so angry and frustrated because he had tortured my baby. Hyrum was sobbing hysterically and clung to me for dear life. I decided right then and there that I was never going to take him back to that dentist again.

After a few more days and more tooth pain, I finally called Kym who had gone through similar problems with her little boy. She gave me the phone number for her pediatric dentist. I got an appointment and took him in. Dr. Markham was so kind and gentle. Hyrum was still skittish and scared, but he finally got him to open his mouth. After the examination, Dr. Markham was shocked about what the other dentist had done. There was still infection under the tooth, and Dr. Markham said he would never have done that to a child because in those types of situations, they often won’t get completely numb, and the nerves are very sensitive because of the infection. He also said that it was very rare that the baby tooth could be saved, and it should have just been pulled instead. His descriptions of the problems that could happen fit our experience exactly. Apparently, Hyrum also had several very small cavities starting on other teeth. Dr. Markham said that his enamel had some problem spots that were most likely caused by a sickness or something during my pregnancy. He recommended that we schedule a surgery for Hyrum where they could pull the tooth and fix all of the other cavities.

I wasn’t thrilled about Hyrum having to have surgery, but I knew that it was the right thing to do. He had completely lost confidence in dentists and doctors, and I knew it would only re-traumatize him to do it any other way.

The surgery was scheduled at the Riverwoods surgical center, and they took really good care of him. He brought Monkey Bunky Wunky with him, and the receptionist gave Monkey an armband too. They wheeled Hyrum back to surgery in a little wagon. He was very brave and waved good-bye to me. It was a bit gut-wrenching to watch him go, but at least he was smiling. The surgery only took about 45 minutes, but being in the waiting room was nerve-wracking.

When he was done they called me back to sit with Hyrum while he woke up. The nurse warned me that children tend to have trouble waking up from anesthesia, but even her warning didn’t prepare me for the crying, moaning, and thrashing that he went through. I just held him and sang to him, but I was crying too. It was hard to see him like that. I finally got him home and put a movie on so that he could rest. He was drowsy and sore for the day, but he recovered remarkably fast after that.

He now has a big metal spacer in his mouth to hold the place of the missing tooth, but he hasn’t complained about it at all. When we went to see Dr. Markham for the follow-up, Hyrum was much more calm and relaxed. Everything was looking good, and he didn't have to be seen for 6 more months. It was a major relief after all the stress that he had endured over the past several week.s 

The dental assistants gave Hyrum sunglasses to wear during the appointment and made him a balloon animal (a monkey, of course) when he was done. I am going to switch all my boys to Dr. Markham from now on. I am just glad that the whole ordeal is over and everything turned out okay in the end. Modern medicine is a marvel, and I am so thankful for the blessings that we have.