Visit to the Pediatric Dentist: Rant and Rave

Well, I have mixed reviews of our visit to the pediatric dentist. I'll begin with the "rave" :) Ethan did spectacularly at his first dental visit! The technician advised me that it would be perfectly normal for there to be screaming and carrying on, but Ethan didn't make a peep and was totally cooperative. He was mesmerized by the cartoons on the TV in the exam room and opened his mouth for the exam, cleaning, and sanding of his tooth. Yes, they did not do an x-ray nor repair the chip in his tooth as I had been advised over the phone. This would bring me to the "rant" part of our experience, but I'll finish describing the "rave" first! Ethan got to pick out a toothbrush (a green one with a train on it) and a prize. He selected a small, squeaky rubber ducky that he thought was just great. Back to the ranting... So the dentist and technician looked at me like I was crazy when I told them that my expectation had been (as I had been told over the phone), that an x-ray would be needed to verify that there was no root damage and that a tooth-colored resin would be used to repair his tooth. Seems there was major miscommunication among their office staff. The dentist didn't think an x-ray was necessary since there was no indication of trauma to his gums or neighboring teeth (which was fine with me), but she said that they would not repair the chip, just maybe sand the sharp parts where it broke. I definitely wanted something done to improve the jaggedness/appearance of the chip, so I agreed to the sanding. However, the sanding was not done evenly (to me it looks like half of his tooth is now distinctly taller than the other half). I wasn't very satisfied, but didn't want to try Ethan's patience. So, we may be consulting Dan and my dentist to see if he can do a better job of sanding the tooth, especially since it is pretty obvious, and he won't begin to lose his baby teeth for several years!