Gotta share my frustration.....

[Emilysmom]

Emily has gone to the same dentist since she was 3. We chose this particular dentists office because their ad in the phone book says they "cater to cowards", and we had a family of FIVE cowards! And I thought this would be the perfect dentist for Emily. She has gone for cleanings and Xrays every six months since she was 3.....same place, same dentist. I guess you'd think he'd be a bit attached to her by now.

So, today she goes for a check up. The hygienists are awesome! They joke with her and make her totally comfortable......she hasn't needed Mom to be in the room with her in years. But today, I had a few questions for them, so I went in when the cleaning was almost finished. The dentist comes over and I tell him I have a couple questions and he looks annoyed. GRRRR I asked how many baby teeth she still had in her mouth and he hands me the xrays and said "see for yourself". I looked and looked and all those teeth looked the same to me, so I hand it back and say "hmmmmmmm show me". He finally pointed to one tooth and said it was the only baby tooth left and that it would soon fall out without any problem.
So.......on to question number 2. I said "what do you think about her bite"? (Two reasons I was interested: She looks like she has an overbite to me, and her palate is SO high and narrow and I wondered if braces would help both issues. And I thought maybe he would give us a referral to an orthodontist just to SEE if that would help. And hey.........expanding her palate might just help with her speech too!!!) He checked her bite and then rambled on about how she did have an overbite and her palate was very high and narrow but "that just goes with the syndrome". Hmmmm, we've studied a LOT about "the syndrome" for 18 years now Doc.....ya think?? Then he said "she'll be FINE". And as he was exiting the room without saying goodbye to Emily, he said "just focus on HYGIENE". I asked the hygienist if there was a problem with Emily's dental hygiene, and she assured me that her teeth looked great!
So, what's up with this guy?? I'm wondering..........do we find a different dentist, even though the staff Emily spends the most time with are awesome?? Do I search for an orthodontist who doesn't require a referral and just see what he thinks???

It's been a long long time since I felt that someone acted like Emily didn't deserve their time. And today was sure one of those days. I hate that!!

[Ericsmomma]

What a creep! Sounds like he needs to "brush up" on his bedside manner! I can't believe he handed you the x-ray! Like how hard would it be to answer you the first time! I know everyone has a bad day, but to treat any child like this, especially after treating her for over 10 years is truly ignorant. Did Emily say anything? Do you know him well enough to speak to him about this incident?
I think I would try it...and maybe educate him in the process.

[chloebell1680]

I really hate to hear how this doctor acted. I react before thinking which in some situations can not be a good scenario. This really agitates me since he has been her dentist for so long. Could it be just a bad day and if so why should you guys take the hit??!!! Rrrrrrrrrrrrr!

[Googsmom aka Jennifer]

{{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}} I send hugs. What a booger day

[Emilysmom]

When we got home from the dentist and I shared the whole experience with my husband.......he said "yeah, the guy has been a jerk for the past 15 years. That's why *I* never go to him"!!!!!!!
So, how have I missed it for all these years???

[Myria]

GRRRR!! Everyone has a bad day sometimes, but really.. this guy has some nerve. I think that a second opinion may be warranted, since he DID say that she has an overbite. I wonder if he just doesn't want to waste time on a referral on someone who has "the syndrome", like all you need to concern yourself with is making sure that little Emily brushes& flosses her teeth, as if she doesn't know about that by now..
It's a shame that such great hygentists have to work with a guy like that! Maybe you could find an ortho who doesn't need a referral...Good Luck!

[momofrussell]

Yes, get a new dentist. It's like he wrote off SO much to the DS that he forgot that kids w/DS can get braces and palate expanders like the rest of the crowd? LOL... OY VAY!

Get out those yellow pages and start looking!

A.

[steffipoo]

Aww Susan That sucks.... I HATE when ppl like dentists write off our kids. Like well it doesn't matter if we fix her teeth palate cause she has this syndrome. UGGGG Nothing infuriates me more than that. "As if it doesn't matter for those people." grr grr Time for a new dentist. And BTW I LOL when I read Terri said he wouldn't go to that jerk dentist kinda like hey why didn't you tell me that before? My husband and I go thru stuff like that all the time... We laugh sometimes and say HEY don't we talk?? Seems like we do till moments like this arrive.(((HUGS))) Steff

[Jackie]

Susan knows MY story with Emily. When you have medicaid that goes with your SSI... that you get at 18... you get 1000 for yearly dental. It is a great big HUGE ripoff IMHO. Almost any dentist will take Emily but they all want the entire sum. They say they will see her twice a year. NOW how many of us ever spend 1000 a year on dental hygiene which is what her needs are.

The last dentist she saw I visited with long distance on the phone and he as much as said...I never do much for people with DS because they just dont take care of their mouths. He then went on to tell me that they could do some things like seal her teeth etc ...but it probably wasnt worth?? it?? (by the way he took 500 of her money and did a few xrays and cleaned) I was furious but Katie had asked me to be nice because they lived near them in the neighborhood. However they have now moved to a HUGE home out by a lake...so....He told me he took a number of medicaid pts as a 'favor' to the community. Yea...at 1000 a pop and half a Friday dedicated to these patients ...it IS quite a favor ...but IMHO again...to HIM.

I am sure there ARE excellent dentists but for some reason I always feel like I am being taken advantage of when I take Emily.

She did have a very nice and reasonable local dentist here. It was his recommendation that she have a few preventitive things done but he suggested we have them done in Austin where she lives now. That is why we went to the other dude.

I think we need to report these things and I am sorry now I didnt immediately call up someone and do this.

[laurasnowbird]

Grrrr, Susan, I'd be mad too! And seriously, if you could read the x-rays yourself, what would you need HIM for? Sheesh.

The orthodontists around here don't need a referral, you can just call them up and schedule and appointment. Isn't one of Sujeet's parents an orthodontist? (I have no idea where they live) We seem to have the opposite problem in my area, there are so many orthodontists around here that they are sticking appliances in kids' mouths while they are really young to "stake their claim".

Must be something about dentists though. My sister-in-law works for one, and we took Ethan to her for his cleaning and exam. He did beautifully with the cleaning because his aunt was doing it, but the dentist barely looked in his mouth. I asked about the teeth grinding he used to do, and he said it would be fine. I asked about his missing teeth, and he told me they were all there. I asked him to count again, and he figured it out. The most aggravating part was that when our insurance was billed, they billed for his negligent exam, but not the excellent cleaning he got from his aunt. I was fuming, because that didn't even come close to an exam and meant that we had to wait six months for another or pay out of pocket. I moved the whole family to another dentist, after explaining my feelings to my sis in law. She completely understood.

I'd be interested to hear what others have heard about that high narrow palate. Ethan sees the orthodontist again on the 17th of July. She knows that he sucks his tongue (especially when tired) and she said that it may not be a good idea to spend a lot of time and energy expanding his palate, because his habit will most likely cause it to collapse again. I like our orthodontist, she did an awesome job on Nick (and has an older sister with DS!) but I feel like I should get another opinion about that whole palate thing......

I'd be looking for another dentist Susan. I don't give people who treat Ethan as less a second chance to treat him poorly. It seems that he has a bias that hasn't shown itself until now, but one that is clear nevertheless. Either that, or he's just ignorant about treatment options for her. Neither scenario is a particularly good one!

[Jackie]

I agree Susan...don't go back. You dont need a referral for an orthodontist. I did get in touch with Sujeets mom and she agreed with doing all the things our dentist here said Em would benefit from...the things the doc in Austin said not worth doing.

Susan don't know about your "cater to cowards" dentists but i think its a chain and frankly probably the better dentists are out in private practice.

Jackie

[lorraine]

What a lovely dentist
There must be much better one's out there.
Good luck with finding one.

Lorraine

[sd112170]

My question to you is, Do you really want to give your hard earned money to a rude person? Only you can answer that. As for me, what a creep. I would have a hard time with it. You put money in his pocket, we the people could make or break him. Duh, you think he'd change his attitude.



Stacy

[CC]

"So, what's up with this guy?? I'm wondering..........do we find a different dentist, even though the staff Emily spends the most time with are awesome?? Do I search for an orthodontist who doesn't require a referral and just see what he thinks??? "

What has this Doc been like last time you spoke with him? Is he normally nice? Chris goes into the room by himself for cleanings and x-rays but after every visit his Ped Dentist comes out to tell us how his teeth, bite and such are. That is the way it should go.

As for your other two questions

YES and YES

CC

[char]

Since I hate going to the dentist and need someone who truly would cater to this coward, I would not go back to anyone who was rude or short with me. I have to work really hard at not crying just to open my mouth and let them look inside.