You know they did a good job when she screams because it's time to go

Libby had a dentist appointment today to fill 2 cavities on her front teeth. Due to some traumatic experience when I was a kid, I am still terrified of going to the dentist. I didn't want Libby to have my "issues" when she's older, so I opted to have her doped up on happy pills and laughing gas.

When we arrived at the office they weighed her and took her blood pressure, then gave her a drug called Versed. It's an amnesiac as well as an analgesic, which means if she got freaked out she probably wouldn't remember it. They turned on "Chicken Little" and we went to the lobby to wait for it to take effect, about 20 minutes. Once she got nice and woozy, we went back to the room. They laid Libby down on a papoose board, strapping her in so she wouldn't be able to move her arms during the procedure. They put on the nose peice for the nitrous oxide, and Libby started "smelling" they orange-scented gas. They had a TV screen up on the ceiling, covered Libby with an afghan, then got to work.

While working on her teeth, they would stop every five minutes or so to let Libby rest and talk. At no time did Libby get upset. They had to stop at one point because she was laughing at the movie and wanted to talk about it. They took their time and explained every step to me. I really appreciated their patience and also their understanding of how kids think and behave.

When she was all done, they sat Libby up and I tried to put her shoes on. Libby pulled them off and yelled "NO!" and threw them across the room. She started screaming when I put her jacket on, yelling "Lay down! lay down!". I literally had to drag her out of the office. She had a tantrum in the hall, and I had to carry her to the car. You know a kid had a good experience at the dentist when they throw a tantrum when it's time to leave. A far cry from my first experience (which had nothing to do with my dentist, it was all me, by the way). I hope this is a sign of things to come...