Abscessed Teeth and the Musings They Inspired

Today Hope had a baby tooth pulled by an oral surgeon. On Monday, she had quite a bit of pain in her tooth, which I assumed was being pushed on by a permanent tooth. On Tuesday when we were out, Abby said, "Mommy, did you know Hope's cheek is all swollen?" Sometime after lunch Hope's face began to swell, so on our way home we swung by the dentist's office for an x-ray. The dentist said Hope had an abscessed tooth and it would need to come out. So, today, it did. We hope that the infection will now go away and she will soon be back to "normal".

Before we went to the oral surgeon, the dentist had referred us to a pediatric dentist to have the tooth pulled. I called the dentist we had used when the girls were little (big, big mistake). This woman takes the worst case scenario and presents it to you as if this is what you will be facing. She warned that Hope might end up in the emergency room on IV antibiotics - Hope, listening in the chair with tears streaming down her face. This was the same dentist who warned us that Abby would *almost certainly* loose her permanent front teeth due to an eye tooth situation- and Abby is just fine today.

Mulling over the situation, I realized that this dentist uses fear to gain power over people. She uses her theatrics and medical knowledge to create panic in loving parents who only want their kids to be alright. Even her dental hygienists treat parents with scorn when they learn the child doesn't floss twice a day and if the child has a cavity, you'd better run and hide! I wonder if creating unwarranted fear in people gives her a sense of importance (since *she* has the answer for you and if you don't do as she says, your child will suffer harm).

Mulling further, I thought of a woman who runs a very nice fabric store nearby. However, the atmosphere in the store is suffocating and the employees have a meek and scared demeanor! The owner was at the cash register once when I was checking out and I could see why. She controlled everyone through threats and fear.

Many people in religious organizations and in the church do this as well- "If you don't live your life the way I think you should (dress the way I think you should, eat or don't eat what I think you should, etc.) you'll be in danger of hell... Control through fear.

I can see how fear of hell can be a good thing in causing us to turn to Christ, and He certainly did warn people about it while on earth and through the Bible, but that is not how God deals with us. He doesn't try to control us using fear and intimidation. It seems that looking around lately, whether it be situations at Brian's work or at the dentist's, it amazes me how many people try to control other people (it's like a bunch of toddlers in grown up bodies!).

Anyway, these "musings" are just for my own reflection- I think that domineering people are one of my "pet peeves" and this dentist taking advantage of Hope's situation to create more panic than was necessary (even the first dentist used the words "too much drama" in referring to her...) made me think on this.

I am grateful that Hope is feeling better tonight and that her experience with the oral surgeon was a positive one. We pray that the infection will go away now and that this will be the end of this adventure!