Even Pediatric Dentists get cavities...

Carilion Children's GPR Resident Dr. Chelsea Randall works on my silver filling and she is awesome!

Sometimes you can’t understand what someone is going through until you walk a mile in their shoes.  When it comes to dental work, I wholeheartedly agree with this statement.  In my opinion, every dentist should go through having a filling done- the injection of local anesthesia… having a rubber dam in your mouth… and then, of course, the vibration and unattractive sound of the drill.  It’s not really fun but sometimes has to be done.

As a child, I experienced many visits to our family dentist.  This was during the 70s before disposable gloves were a must–YUCK!  😜.  I was the one kid of four that needed the dental work.  I remember our family dentist having to give me shots, work in my mouth – the whole nine yards – as a little kid.  I think these experiences shaped what I later chose to do as my profession because It’s a different experience than when you are a child as compared to an adult!  Your mouth is smaller… things taste yucky… you are placed in a very vulnerable position lying down … and it can be scary and unnerving 😳🤔😖.

With that being said, as a pediatric dentist, it’s my job to try and change the way a child experiences what I experienced all those years ago.  Things were different then.  My dentist was a very nice family dentist but he wasn’t a specialist.  There was no explaining things or putting things on my level as a 6 year old experiencing dental work for the first time.  That’s ok.  I can do it for kids now!  If I can make things easier for a child then I have done my job. Kids are kids and we need to be flexible and meet them, their families, their social situations- the whole picture-where they are.   In the end, dental work is still dental work no matter how much you try and flower it- but we can make it a little easier for children. 

So, in the end, all of us pediatric dentists, assistants, hygienists, and crew will continue to fight the good fight of strep mutans and dental caries (cavities)… but in a more child-friendly way…. one tooth at a time….  😆😘