I was more nervous about my first tooth filling than my kid, but my 'be realistic' approach paid off - and it all went smoothly. Why bother fixing baby teeth when they're just gonna fall out anyway? To save my permanent ones, of course!

Going to the dentist has been a nightmare for me.

It's a physical pain, a moral pain, and a financial pain. And I'm lucky that my kid has two parents and a chance to get the best from both. By 'the best', I mean good teeth, just like my dad's. His grandma was 81 when she left this world with all her teeth intact! They weren't all in place, but they were enough to chew food and didn't need any implants.

I really hope my kid gets the good genes, but unfortunately, it doesn't mean she won't need to see a dentist. We had to take her to see one when she was just 7 years old. This review is about our experience with her first dental filling.

We used to take her to the dentist every year for a check-up, and everything was fine until one year when they told us to take her to 'whiten' her teeth with some paste. It was in a polyclinic, and we paid 100 rubles for it. They just applied some paste to a couple of teeth, and that was it.But then, when she was almost 6, she got tooth decay.

I noticed it on her lower teeth during a throat check-up when she was sick. I remembered that some parents from her daycare group had already taken their kids to see a dentist, so I got their contacts and booked an appointment over the phone.

The clinic is far from us, but we don't have a choice. Our city has a problem with dentists, especially child dentists. By the time I'm writing this, the dentist who treated her teeth has moved to another city, and I have no idea who to turn to...

During the check-up, we found out that she needs to have two teeth filled, and there's a spot inside one of them that's not visible. Since the teeth are next to each other, it makes sense to do the procedure in one go with a single anesthesia.

The clinic isn't fancy, but they do have a TV in the kid's room, and the child can watch cartoons while they're being treated. They also give them glasses to wear so the light from the lamp doesn't hurt their eyes, and they let them sit comfortably in the chair.

I was standing next to her and joking that if I had dentists like this when I was a kid, I might not have been so scared. My childhood was a whole different story - a hard chair with a 90-degree back and armrests, and Novocain as the only anesthesia. You could end up in the ICU with an allergy.

But this time, it was all good, comfortable, and the doctors were nice.

Dental treatment for kids, reviewBefore taking her to the dentist, I explained to her how the procedure would go - they'd give her an injection near the affected tooth, and she wouldn't feel anything. The dentist would then drill out the infected part and fill the tooth with a plug.But when we got to the dentist, she was adamant that it couldn't be done that way. They said they wouldn't give her an injection in front of her, but instead, they'd just apply some ointment to her gum, and it would numb.

I'll be honest, what are the chances that a person will be shocked to find out they've been lied to all along, sugarcoating the truth and not telling them the whole story? It's pretty high.

And what are the chances that a kid will freak out when they find out there's actually a shot and a drill involved? Also pretty high.

I'm for seeing things as they really are, even if it's scary or uncomfortable.

Unknowns can be tough on the human psyche, so the only way to deal with fear is to know what's going on and why it's necessary.

Before every medical procedure, I talk to my kid multiple times, explaining what's going to happen and what the consequences will be if we don't do it.

Of course, there's a fine line between being honest and downplaying fear and emotions.

Like, 'oh, it's no big deal, let's just get it over with.' Why deny fear when it's hardwired into our brains and can't be ignored?

I acknowledge that it's scary, but I teach my kid not to be afraid of fear itself, but to be stronger than it by exercising willpower.

Medical procedures are something we need to do to prevent things from getting worse, but if we go into them with fear, it can lead to something even more unpleasant and dangerous.

And I genuinely believe that my daughter's calmness during medical procedures, like getting her teeth filled, having catheters inserted in the hospital, or getting blood drawn, is thanks to this approach.

We used to be like everyone else - screaming in the doctor's office when she had to get her blood drawn and her cries still echoed in my ears afterwards.

But every time, I was calm and confident, telling her I believed in her, that everything would be okay, and speaking politely to the doctors so she wouldn't see them as enemies.

And that's exactly what paid off - our first round of dental fillings went smoothly.

The teeth were repaired, and from the outside, you'd never even notice the fillings.

Dental care for kids, reviewAs for the cost, it wasn't exactly budget-friendly - around 8-9 thousand rubles. That's roughly the same as getting an adult tooth filled and a decent-sized filling.Prices have gone up since then, and now a single adult tooth filling costs as much as it did for a kid's tooth. This clinic is one of the more reasonably priced ones, though. I have something to compare it to because I used to get my teeth filled at a different clinic that charged me twice as much, and within a year or two, the fillings would start to crumble. That's the quality of materials you get at an expensive clinic. I left that place when they told me a molar filling would cost around 25 thousand rubles...

Given that prices are rising, it's pointless to post the price list, as it might become outdated soon.

After my daughter's procedure, they gave her a lozenge with xylitol to prevent her from biting her lip or cheek, since she wouldn't feel anything.

It's also a positive reinforcement of the experience - they give her a treat after the procedure. We've had multiple procedures at this clinic, and every time, they give her a lozenge, but it doesn't always help, as she still manages to bite something before the anesthesia wears off. Probably because she tries to gnaw on it, so if that's a habit, it's probably better not to give her the lozenge."

I've had it happen twice, and I'm still not sure what went wrong the second time. We had to do fillings on two teeth at once, but only on the top. Maybe the nerve was in a weird spot or there was already some inflammation, and the anesthesia didn't quite work as well as it should have. But my daughter could feel what was going on, and she was really struggling to cope. She was trying to be brave, but I could see that she was in a lot of pain. We felt bad for her, but we explained that it's not always easy, and that sometimes it can be like that. Luckily, the pain didn't last long, and now she's not as scared to go to the dentist. In fact, she's been saying that she needs to go back because she thinks something else is wrong.

It's amazing to me that a seven-year-old can be so responsible about her health.

I totally get that every kid is different, and dental procedures can be super stressful. But I think it's worth trying to approach it in a more calm and rational way.

First, take care of yourself before the procedure, and then help your kid calm down too. You can't completely eliminate fear, but you can learn to manage it.

I think sedation for kids' teeth is a last resort, only when there's no other option. Maybe it's a complex anatomical issue or some underlying psychological problem that makes it hard to predict how the kid will react. Or maybe there are just too many teeth that need to be fixed, and local anesthesia isn't enough.

I hope I never have to find out what it's like to have a kid who needs sedation for dental work. So, for me, the best motivation to take care of my kid's teeth is the pain I remember. And when it comes to kids' teeth, I think it's even more logical to take care of them before they fall out and get replaced with permanent ones. If the baby teeth rot, it can affect the permanent teeth and cause all sorts of problems down the line.

I recommend finding a good dentist who can explain things in a way that makes sense. My dentist told me that if a tooth is going to fall out soon anyway, there's no point in fixing it. But if it's a tooth that's going to be around for a while, like a molar, it's worth taking care of it. That seems like a pretty logical approach to me.

We were lucky to be able to put off our kid's first dental procedure until she was a bit older, which definitely helped reduce the stress for both of us. So, I'd say that cutting back on sugary snacks and drinks, and making sure to brush those teeth after sweets, especially after lollipops, is a good idea. We're not perfect, but we try to keep an eye on things.

The only real downside to the local anesthesia was that my daughter's lips got a bit swollen afterwards, and they took a while to heal.

After the 'ouch' moment, I'd recommend keeping an eye on your little one's diet for a while - stick to soft foods that are easy to swallow, like purees, yogurt, and the like.

If your kid needs dental work, I still think it's worth going ahead with it. Personally, I'm all for delaying dental treatments as long as possible and doing your own research before making any decisions. That way, you can bring a healthy dose of skepticism to your conversations with the dentist - and if you feel like you're being sold a bill of goods, don't be afraid to walk away and find someone else.