Dental Office Woes
I work in a pretty fancy dental office. And experienced this the other day.
We had a young-ish patient in to get 3 fillings on some REALLY badly decayed permanent teeth. The parents had been postponing treatment for a while because they "weren't ready" or "didn't feel like it". This patient had one note her account from a previous visit stating "Patient/parents would not allow us to continue treatment," as well as a few no-shows, all appointments to get the same fillings done. The treatment is covered by insurance, so there is no out-of-pocket expense.
So, this visit on Monday went like this -
Patient is seated, given the usual "show and tell" of the instruments, shown what they do, and given a chance to express any fears.
Doctor walks in, and kid throws a fit. She's screaming for less than a minute "MOMMY! DON'T MAKE ME DO THIS! I DON'T WANT TO!!!" More of a temper tantrum scream than a "OMG I'm in a panic and think I'm going to die" scream. Mom, of course, obliges and says "Nevermind. Maybe some other time." Mom's been given the option of Nitrus, but refused. They also visited a pedo office, but weren't happy and want to remain at my Doc's office.
So, booju, what do you think? Considering the mom did *nothing* to calm the child this time (I wasn't around for the last visit), and simply gave in to her daughter's tantrum, is she instilling a bad habit?
What, from the parent's perspective, should be done?
What, from a professional perspective, should be done (considering you can't really refuse to treat a patient)?
Would the dentist be right/wrong in charging some kind of fee to the parents for time spend? (He didn't, BTW)
We had a young-ish patient in to get 3 fillings on some REALLY badly decayed permanent teeth. The parents had been postponing treatment for a while because they "weren't ready" or "didn't feel like it". This patient had one note her account from a previous visit stating "Patient/parents would not allow us to continue treatment," as well as a few no-shows, all appointments to get the same fillings done. The treatment is covered by insurance, so there is no out-of-pocket expense.
So, this visit on Monday went like this -
Patient is seated, given the usual "show and tell" of the instruments, shown what they do, and given a chance to express any fears.
Doctor walks in, and kid throws a fit. She's screaming for less than a minute "MOMMY! DON'T MAKE ME DO THIS! I DON'T WANT TO!!!" More of a temper tantrum scream than a "OMG I'm in a panic and think I'm going to die" scream. Mom, of course, obliges and says "Nevermind. Maybe some other time." Mom's been given the option of Nitrus, but refused. They also visited a pedo office, but weren't happy and want to remain at my Doc's office.
So, booju, what do you think? Considering the mom did *nothing* to calm the child this time (I wasn't around for the last visit), and simply gave in to her daughter's tantrum, is she instilling a bad habit?
What, from the parent's perspective, should be done?
What, from a professional perspective, should be done (considering you can't really refuse to treat a patient)?
Would the dentist be right/wrong in charging some kind of fee to the parents for time spend? (He didn't, BTW)