My son had a number of fillings that needed treating. The problem was, having had a previous unpleasant experience with another dentist, he was too scared to go.
Eventually we just bit the bullet and made an appointment for him at Sunshine Coast Smile Centre. It took a bit of persuasion and bribery to get him there but in the end he agreed to go.
Right from the start Dr Jon Kerr was absolutely brilliant. He seemed to recognise my son’s anxiety, so was very gentle and caring in the way he talked to him.
My son was very nervous, (he even started crying at one point), so all Jon did in the first appointment was give him an anesthetic. Primarily to give him understanding of what it would involve.
Part of my son’s anxiety was due to a fear of big needles. So this was a very good move on Jon’s part as my son didn’t see, or even feel, the needle. He was too busy watching a Wiggles DVD on the flat screen television which is on the ceiling!
Jon advised that my son needed to have 5 fillings. Given my son’s apprehension, Jon suggested we schedule a series of appointments about a week apart.
The theory behind this was the more my son visited the dentist, the more his fear of going would subside.
In the first two appointments Jon worked both times on separate teeth that didn’t involve much work. The fillings were completed in less than 10 minutes and on both occasions my son still didn’t feel the needle!
On the third appointment Jon worked on two teeth, whilst on the fourth he treated the tooth that needed the most amount of work.
These four appointments all took place over the course of 4 weeks. So this really enabled Jon to build a good rapport with my son. To the point where now he is no longer scared of going to the dentist.
In fact, my son is so comfortable with visiting the dentist now, he even ask Jon if we could schedule another appointment - just so he could miss his school’s cross country race day!
Thanks to Jon my son now has a complete set of healthy teeth and is no longer experiencing pain or discomfort.
Also as we were eligible for the Child Dental Benefits Schedule we didn’t have to pay any out-of-pocket expenses for all these appointments at all.
Our Patient's Stories By: - Spencer Samaroo
For more information about our family or childrens dentists on the Sunshine Coast, call us today.