Angelina got her first fillings done this morning, and I’d like to know when did they stop putting kids to sleep for this?!?  She’s 6 1/2 yrs old, for crying out loud!  If I’d had any inkling that they might not automatically do it, I’d certainly have requested it for her.  Her Dad didn’t even think about it.  When I asked him how she did, he said, “Oh, she did fine.  She looked scared and made some noises, but she didn’t cry.”  So, because she didn’t cry, she was fine?  Never mind the whimpering and trembling — she did fine.  Oh, and she got to pick two toys from the toy box; that made it all better, I’m sure.

When I asked her about it this afternoon, Angelina told me that it had hurt.  I said, “didn’t they tell you to raise your arm if it hurt?  She nodded, so I asked her why she hadn’t raised her arm.  “Because they’d already started filling it.”  She thought she was only allowed to tell them it hurt while they were still drilling.  So, she let them finish, with it hurting, because she thought it was too late to say anything.  No wonder she was whimpering.  But she didn’t cry.

I’m very proud of her for sitting there like an adult would — but I still think it’s ridiculous that she had to.  If this dentist won’t sedate her for the next filling, I’m going to call around until I find a dentist that will.  No six year old should have to go through that awake.