I accidentally discovered a [no so] great method on how to scare the crap out of a kid in the dental chair, and very possibly scar them for life to the point that they refuse to return until they have pus pouring out of the multiple abscesses they have!

The ingredients needed for this concoction is:

• 1x patient. Preferably around 6 years of age. This is the ideal age because they’re unlikely to have had any hardcore dental work done before [unless they're the type to suck on lollies 24/7], won’t know what to expect, and they are also old enough to remember the dreaded experience.
• 1x dentist/therapist/hygienist. For ideal conditions, make sure they are running behind and pressed for time, which will hopefully cause them to rush through the procedure without fully explaining and buttering up the patient.
• A nurse/assistant. Or preferably not, since not having one will make things a lot more difficult. In this case I had an inexperienced assistant… I guess it partially counts?
• 1x set up…. er duh!?

Method:

1. Start as per usual, inviting the patient into the room and into the dental chair. It may be good to still be in the process of setting up as it will make lots of noises, and allows the patient to see all the instruments and imagine the worst-case scenario. Note: Be sure to use the gel etch and fissure sealant in syringe with the tips looking awfully sinister.
2. The dentist/therapist/hygienist needs to talk as little as possible. The aim is to make the whole experience as cold and sterile as possible. No smiles allowed.
3. Begin procedure as per usual. Be sure the wave the handpiece around the patients face.
4. When etching and applying sealant, move fast, silently and directly so to make the poor kid jump in surprise thinking they’re getting jabbed by a needle.
5. Finish up as per usual. Be sure to be as mean as possible by ignoring the patient’s tears and kicking them out the door pronto~!

hrmm… alright, so that wasn’t exactly how things actually turned out. Step 4 however is inspired by what happened when I was doing a fissure seal on a little patient of mine. She was so good as well… and I had to apologise multiple times because I felt terrible for scaring the crap out of her.

How did it happen? Well… I was completely in my own zone that I didn’t even realise how scared she was until she gasped out loud when I first applied the etch. When in the zone, a set of teeth is just another set of teeth, I forgot that this particular set of teeth was actually attached to a patient who has never had a sealant.

Thankfully the little patient was super-mature about the whole scarred for life process and forgave me just a little bit…. I can only imagine what she really thought of me….