What is else could I do for being too emotional at the dentist?
TW: dentist, ableism, I think.
Hi. Short background, I’m a disabled adult. I have neurodivergent, emotional, mental, and physical disabilities. I act immature sometimes. I have problems with noises, uncomfortable feelings, some scents, and some foods I can’t handle. I also have some irrational fears. I get no one likes the dentist. I get into the chair in the waiting room and I’m shaking. I usually bring my walker with me to be able to move around the office safely, so my legs won’t just give way. By the time I get into the chair, I’m silently having panic attacks, maybe half the time crying quietly.
We found a dentist on my insurance plan who would provide sedation. It got a bit better. Then one day I was going in for a root canal, and they had forgotten to order the sedation. So my mother gave me two of my anxiety medications she carries for emergencies, and I talked myself into the chair. He filled two syringes with the numbing stuff. First, the dentist wiped the topical stuff onto my gums, then immediately begins to put the shot in, not waiting for the topical to work at all. I let out a yelp, and he took the now half-filled first syringe out of my mouth. “You are twenty nine. It’s not that painful. Don’t scare my other patients.” Then he empties the first syringe into my gums, throws it down next to the second syringe, and goes to the curtained off area next to me. I asked the assistant what the other syringe was for, and he said it was the rest of the medication, he had to do two shots for a root canal.
Then he came back maybe five minutes later. Told me to lean back and open my mouth. Then I hear the drill.
He never gave me all the meds.
His rule was raise your hand if in pain, and it was a lot of pain, so my hand shot into the air. He said stopped, told me not to be a child, and if I didn’t want this to happen, I should have brushed and flossed better (medication deteriorated my teeth. I brushed three times a day. Yeah, I flossed maybe four days a week once a day, but way more than my sister, who has never flossed in her life, and has only had one cavity in her life.) then he just kept drilling and doing his thing. I squirmed, I wept, I let out whines. Finally, he was done, and turned. “Oh, I guess I forgot the second syringe.” Then he turned back to be. “Next time, before you come, make sure to take your medication. Your behavior is unacceptable in my office. You know doctors can decline patients, yes?”
I told my mom and she sent a letter to the state board, I guess? He just claimed I was mentally ill and making it up, and they believed him.