Dental abuse of children...wow!

My father was a children's dentist and I worked with him for several years. (doing his lab work paid great!).

There is one thing early in the article that is a giant red flag for me:

This all started when Brandi Motley took her daughter, Bri’el, to the dentist to have a tooth pulled. Motley said she was asked to sit in the waiting room because children tend to behave better without their parents present.

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The dentist is quite correct on that, however this rarely was said in dad's practice because few parents expected to go in with their child. When a parent did we were pretty sure the child would be a problem.

After that not so good start things go so sour for me in all sorts of directions. The article is clearly designed to demonize the dentist involved, likely with good cause. I so wish they had not because some of their over the top stuff leads me to distrust them as a source. And there is so much that seems flat out surrealistic. I'm simply going to point out some things perhaps not obvious to others.

First extracting teeth under local anesthesia is not very painful. Hardly torture. There are exceptions. We would often extract 4 teeth, usually bicuspids, for orthodontic reasons. The actual extraction of the teeth would take 10 minutes tops. Administering the local anesthesia took longer and I just mean the injection, not the waiting for it to become effective. What could be painful and sure as heck was scary for a kid was when they had a badly decayed tooth that had to go and when gripped with the forceps it would break into pieces. That meant digging with root picks to get every piece of the roots out. Not fun at all. (Think of your mother trying to get out a splinter using a needle time 10 to 100).

We would also fairly often remove a primary tooth that was not coming out naturally. These would range from simply timid patients where dad would actually simply grip the tooth (well what was left of it) between thumb and forefinger and pluck it out with less pain than a shot of Novocain to times when the root was being absorbed poorly and there was a long but thin root remaining. That last not horrible, but often an x-ray needed to be taken to be sure the entire root was removed.

Now for the part that really confuses me. The article shows only what look to be sound teeth without any sign of the root even starting to be absorbed. I'm at a loss to even figure out the problem with the first tooth was. No way this should take 3 hours and typically medicaid does not pay well (Ok my knowledge there is well out of date). But even at full price taking 3 hours for simple extractions is not an effective way to generate revenue.

Quite possible the dentist involved deserves significant jail time, but also quite possible the teeth in the photo as just stock footage. I'm inclined to wait before any judgement. But I'm not returning the torches and pitchforks to my local hardware store quite yet either.

EDIT: Listened to the video. Crowns for a 3 year old? No way is that a reasonable procedure and that a no brainer. No details needed. That Medicaid did not deny and then investigate is inexcusable.

If accurate it implies corruption on the other end also. The if accurate part is important however. There are procedures that news sources and parents might call a crown that are really quite different from a crown.

GAH. HGH! Way to pump up my freak level for my ongoing dental ordeals.

Ha, just kidding.

Only someone with Novocaine pumping through his heart could be so cruelly exploitative to young children. I think the source is a tad bit hyperbolic but I can certainly see why parents would characterize it as torture and be beyond outraged. This is a second source that seems to corroborate yours:

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2015/05/26/369229.htm

It's unfathomable to me that he'd be that indifferent to the effects his actions had on vulnerable kids. While I do trust that most dentists behave ethically and legally, I think some will push for far more costlier procedures that necessary. Like the BH dentist who wanted me to have a over $20,000 worth of extensive work done because of my weird situation with my baby teeth and the surfing accident. He was focused on my parents' wallet more than my mouth. I got three more opinions, and they all differed, and then I found the perfect dentist - one who doesn't want to do much.

I think the presence of a parent in the exam room might be comforting and appropriate for a very young child who is new to seeing the dentist. I don't know that it's necessary that the parent accompany him or her unless requested since most dentists and doctors have staff members working alongside them, and are rarely alone in the room with a minor patient. And most aren't sadistic freaks. I can't remember my parents ever being in the room with me during cleaning and whatnot, but it's possible they did when I was tiny. I had a fantastic pediatric dentist.

Jennae said:

I have no idea if it's true or not but I was mortified at the thought.
The video looked real to me and scary.
I would never let my little child go into a doctors office or dentist office without me. It just wouldn't happen.
Children used to go into the dentist by themselves and that was considered normal?
One of my sisters is 14 and she still insists my mom goes in with her. I stopped maybe when I was 12 but all kids are different. The kids shown were so young!

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Going to the office or to the various chairs for treatment?

Most of what happens in a dentists office is at least unpleasant. Let's take someone with good dental hygiene and perfect checkups. There are still x-rays to take and they poke. Cleaning is not as unpleasant for kids as for adults (less buildup, the really nasty stuff is calcium buildup, most kids have no excess calcium) and the cleaning paste is far less gritty than in my youth and in comparison the taste is wonderful, but it is still not what most would choose. Heck just keeping your mouth open is not especially fun. Oh and checking for pits and fissures means using that hooked thing, sooner or later it will poke.

Kids rightly do not like this. If mom or dad are there the kid will do what he can to get mom or dad to make it stop. That often means screaming their head off. Now mom or dad is in a very nasty situation. The really ironic part is many kids are just fine if not with mom or dad. Not all kids are problems if mom or dad are present. 40 years later i can think of some of my dad's patients that I know would have been fine. But if one in 10 is a problem that means on average more than one problem a day.

And as I've said elsewhere, please no matter what else never say 'It wont hurt'. Kids know that when they hear that it will hurt.

One thing dad was a stickler about was telling the kids the truth about pain. That a Novocain shot would pinch. The results with most kids was amazing. Being told yea, this will hurt, but not all that much and having it be accurate created trust.

I have seen kids screaming like that. It was far from the norm. Also 10-20% were that way on the way in and more were that way before any chance of pain.

Dad's office was on the first floor of a 4 or 5 story medical building and the main treatment area was 3 chairs facing towards those windows which looked out towards the main entryway So everyone going in could see what was going on. 99% of the time the blinds were open. Exceptions for real problem patients.

It was also standard practice with younger patients to hold their hands during the any injection. Just enough would try to reach up and grab the syringe, not a good things and too late if one tried to react.

The vast majority of the time this meant that any patient with other patients in the same room for everything except the x-rays. Bit of a difference there. Children seem to either like or at least not dislike other children being present, adults often seem to want privacy.

EDIT: I guess one might say technically many of the parents did go in with their kids. The front desk had counters facing the reception area and also inside and much of the time a parent would accompany their child that far. So they were with the child going through the door from the waiting room, but once inside they handed the child off, usually to the assistant.

Jennae said:

I could not have imagined going into the dentist office or doctor office without one of my parents with me. I was a very shy little girl. I think I would have caused more of a fuss if they said my parent couldn't come with me. My siblings and I would definitely feel more comfortable and cooperative if our parents are right there to reassure us.
I can see how some children may manipulate their parents to some extent but I would think most would know that they are doing what is best for their child (taking proper care of their teeth).

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It was unimaginable for me to have any dental work done until in my late teens or early 20's without one parent there. But in a rather different sense.

EDIT: Unless one counts orthodontic work.

Jennae said:

I could not have imagined going into the dentist office or doctor office without one of my parents with me. I was a very shy little girl.

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I don't recall ever having my parents go with me.

Jennae said:

Right after I posted this I had to run to class but later I thought...OH NO! I hope you don't read it (hmm I need a code name for you like you have HGH for me haha)
I was just so alarmed by the video of the child strapped down and screaming!
My little brother had his three front teeth knocked in when he was three. He was hit by a wooden swing in the mouth. It was terrible..all the blood! I remember he couldn't get into see the Oral surgeon at the children's hospital until 9:30 that night and NO other dentist would touch him because he was so young and his teeth were still there (they had been flipped upside down with the roots sticking out the top.). It's amazing how much the body protecs itself from trauma. After the initial cry and freak out, he settled down and seem to be fine for the most part..albeit much more clingy to my mom. When they finally got in, my mom said they wanted to strap him down but she forbid it. She thought it was so barbaric to do that. She said my dad explained to him that as long as he didn't try to push the dentist away he could hold onto their hands. The dentist pulled out the three teeth with just a local anesthetic. My mom said my brother kicked his little legs and cried the whole time but never once reached his hands up. My mom nearly passed out. Daddy said she turned white and he thought he'd have to catch her. Whew such trauma for such a sweet little guy. The only thing he remembers of the whole ordeal is that they had a large screen tv on the ceiling and Scooby Doo was on and he loved Scooby Doo plus daddy bought him a Popsicle afterwards.
My parents on the other hand remember the more gorey details on the day.

I hope I didn't make your heart race too much lovely ((hugs))

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Aw, it's all good.



Oh gosh. I can envision everything that happened with your brother and how traumatizing it must have been for your parents that day, and I want to give them all a hug!!! Popsicles always seem to save the day for little kids, haha.

We've had so many dental calamities, too. But it's amazing how your mind can be so resilient to remembering the more positive aspects when you're young. When I had the surfing accident I remember seeing all the blood in the water around me - MY blood - and having the panicking thought that sharks would be attracted to it flash through me, and a super hot surfer realizing that without me saying it and reassuring me that Jaws wasn't going to come, haha. Everyone was so amazing that day. People rushed forward to help. My friend there with me acted with such clarity and calmness. I was under aesthetics when they treated me so fortunately I have no memory of those gory bits. My parents weren't allowed in the operating room so they were spared all that, too. I remember all the gifts the "tooth fairy" left in my room when I came home, haha.

My younger brother had a similar accident on the playground to yours when he was little. Swings can be surprisingly hazardous to little people. And then the older brother knocked out teeth when he was little in his pre-me days on my Nana's coffee table, and then again in baseball. We all have quirky positive memories from our dental woes. And yeah, being able to watch a movie that is playing on the ceiling makes everything a bit better.

Dental emergencies are already so frightening to children. I can't imagine a dentist causing emergencies like that one in the story.

I went in with my kids during their dental checkups until this last visit. My kids are 15 and 10. I mostly went in on the last one because of the 10 year old.

However, they have been going to this dentist for years and it is a very busy office. There is a large room where they examine the kids and do the work and there are frequently 3 or more kids in there at the same time and several different employees. I have little to worry about with them being left alone and abused.

All that being said, this article is horrifying if even a fraction of it is true. As a parent, I would be enraged if something like this happened to one of my children.

The more I think about it the more I think the straps are a give away that there are serious problems with that dentist.

When I worked with my father we did get in kids who needed to be restrained. That was always the assistants job and I think before and after my time in really bad cases the receptionist might also assist. It actually was a bad week when there was one such case. That is not to say there were never really bad days, lightening can strike twice or more, but most unusual.

Also straps can cause true panic, when just being restrained by a person usually does not (at least not nearly as much).

Technically speaking Jennae's parents holding her brother's hands was restraint. An ideal sort as it provided reassurance, but it also prevented a potential semi-voluntary action that could have had negative consequences.

My son had to be restrained when he was younger because he needed stitches in his chin. He wasn't held down with "straps", but a sort of blanket was strapped around him to keep him from thrashing. At all times that this was happening, both of us parents were in the room with him.