We'll call him Pedro...

So, the dental school has a free clinic on one Saturday morning a month.  This was one of my first ones in a while, so I thought I might ease into it a little bit with a little cleaning or small restoration.  I walked in, they handed me a random chart...and I set up to do a filling on one of his molars.  

I'll call my patient "Pedro."  Pedro was around eight years old.

When I met Pedro, the first thing out of his mouth was, "And then I get to go home?"  Not a good sign.  I won't go into details, but let's just say it took a lot of hand-holding, stern encouragement, and wiping of tears to get through the appointment...and I'm not even talking about Pedro!  Just kidding.  But, it was pretty serious business.  He was hollering and crying, and I hadn't even started the actual filling itself.  

'Professional Me' says, "Now, hold your hands in your lap.  Be still, and we'll get done sooner. And...maybe you can have a Batman Sticker when we finish!"  

Pedro, "And then I get to go home?"

My assistant had to hold his hand for the next half hour, and he was still wimpering, poor thing.  By the time we were actually done, I thought he'd jump up and sprint for the door.  But, the funny thing is, I told him that we'd do the same thing when he came back.  His response?  An excited and perfectly happy, "OKAY!"

Seriously?  Allright, Pedro...see you next time!

It's amazing what the promise of a Batman sticker can do!