Okay, today marks a day that I have to take my daughter to the dentist office to do a major procedure.  At least for me, it is major.  A couple weeks back, my daughter complained that her tooth hurt.  I looked in her mouth to see that one of her molars was looking a little dark, so I assumed it was a major decay.  Since our family’s dentist was not available because it was a Saturday, I frantically searched for a dentist that was open on that day.

I literally called my own dentist, googled, went onto local mommy boards, and even went on Yelp.  After seeing multiple high recommendations and extremely positive reviews from all the moms on Yelp for this one particular dentist, I made a call that morning.  The office was open, but they were quite booked.  I let them know that it was an emergency and she had to be seen that day.  Thankfully, they squeezed her in as an emergency.

My daughter and I went into this pediatric dentist office, not knowing what to expect, since it was the first time she complained about tooth pain.  After waiting for a little bit, she was taken into the room, and was examined by the dentist.  She ended up having to fill 5 cavities and needed 2 baby root canals on her molars.  What?!!!  I was blown away.  While my daughter enjoys sweets (I am definitely guilty of that) I make sure she has good oral hygiene.  I never expected for my daughter to have so many things going on with her teeth.

When I was a child, I lived at the dentist’s office.  So when I found out about her tooth, I felt really bad because she inherited my genes, or shall I say my teeth.  When the dentist went over what needed to be done, it almost became a huge blur.  She said that we would have to put her under, fill her cavities, and perform two baby root canals.

After hearing all this, I was scared for my daughter and also confused as to why my daughter had to go under (as in general anesthesia).  I called the dental office multiple times to speak with the dentist, got a second opinion, and also sent x-rays to other dentists to find out if this was necessary.  The common consensus was that the teeth needed to be taken care of and because of her age (shy of being 4 years old), general anesthesia was highly recommended.

So after 2 weeks to educate myself about the anatomy of the tooth, speaking with multiple dentists, and a lot of thinking and praying, the day has finally come.  Today, this early morning, my daughter will be going in for her first major procedure where she will be put asleep for approximately 1.5 to 2 hours.  I am super nervous but like anything else, I am staying positive and strong for my baby.