Cavities Suck - Major Venting ahead

We learned that Ava had one, and probably 2, cavities at her last dental cleaning. Our regular dentist referred us to a pediatric dentist since they have better sedation/pain relief options than she would. Being that I like to know what I'm getting into, I went to CharlotteMommies and asked about the dentist she referred us to. After hearing numerous bad things and only a couple of good things I decided not to choose them. I did tons of looking for different ped. dentists that people had good things to say about. I ended up finding one but it was all the way in Matthews, which isn't exactly convenient. After much thinking I went with a much closer and very well-referred office... Young & Polite. This was a tough decision for me since my dentist said she had stopped referring there because too many of her patients weren't happy with them. I ignored that though since so many people had so many nice things to say, I never heard one bad thing!

So, we finally go earlier this week. The place was so "bubblegum" for lack of a better word... just insanely intent on keeping kids happy. The ladies were so overly cheery they were kind of weirding Ava out, she even told me later they were crazy. They did x-rays and then Dr. Polite (yes, seriously, their names are Dr. Young & his wife Dr. Polite) checked out Ava's teeth. She without telling me, did sealants on 2 of Ava's teeth and then diagnosed 4 cavities. What a load of crap! I was so pissed off because I know that our insurance does not cover sealants on baby teeth and it was $45 a tooth! Needless to say they are going to remove those charges from our bill. I cannot believe they had the audacity to do a treatment without my consent. Dr Polite was very sweet and apologetic of course, but she had quite an air of "I'm the expert" (which she actually told me) and that I'm the idiot mom. When I questioned the 4 cavities rather than the 2 I was expecting she said they're very aggressive with treatments and treat all spots as cavities whether they are actually a cavity or not. I sense $$$$$ in their eyes there. Again, I am absolutely floored that they would fill cavities that aren't even cavities. My regular dentist was so upset for me. And I feel stupid because she warned me not to go there and I did it anyway.

Moving on... we are going for a consult at another peds dentist that Kari feels is more aligned with her "philosophy" of dentistry. We'll be going in 2 weeks when we get back from Ohio. Can I just say how stressed out and pissed I am at all this! It's enough of a blow to hear that your kid has 2 cavities but to hear they have 4 and that treatments were done without my consent is just about to make me blow my top off. They were more concerned with singing and being silly than communicating with me... what a way to treat your clients.

Whew... I feel better releasing it out. And I apologize to those of you who read this and are happy clients of Young & Polite. I'm sure they do a good job of things, that's not my complaint, I just wasn't kept in the loop and felt they came down hard on us since we weren't regular patients of theirs.

added 2 hours later: let me clarify before you think I'm just hating on Young & Polite... I'm angry with them for their lack of communication with me, nothing else. I am mostly angry with myself. I spent hours trying to find what I thought was the best care for Ava. I wanted someone I could trust. Ultimately, it was my decision that led us to where we are now. I should have listened to my dentist when she said she no longer refers there, I should have paid better attention at Young & Polite and not been distracted by their fast pace and crazy behavior. I am mad at myself primarily.