No one likes the idea of seeing a child being restrained. Especially not at the dental office. But on the same hand, if a child is admitted to a hospital, has thousands of dollars spent to knock them out with potentially risky gas, and is in need of a procedure that takes only minutes to perform, which care is the right one?

Notorious press has given the papoose board a bad name. Granted, its utilization can be abused, especially as seen in the story that was profiled on ABC’s 20/20. General anesthesia isn’t without its opponents as well, especially when a child dies.

With that somber note hanging in the air, you may want to revisit David After Dentist and pick yourself up with a little sedation dentistry humor. Even if you don’t agree that his dad should have ever posted the video on YouTube, it’s still so freakin’ funny.

Children who can’t be cooperative still need a means of getting their dentistry done, so pedodontists must make choices that sometimes include the use of papoose boards or general anesthesia. For entertainment’s sake, let’s just call this polarizing dilemma by another name: Hugs vs. Drugs.

There have been accusations from both sides: allegations of “nest feathering” by morally outraged dental anesthesiologists, abuses of public funds to pay for unnecessary procedures, the ultimatums given that any child restraint is considered grounds for lawsuits, equating papoose boards with third-world dental care, or offering general anesthesia for simple extractions when a combination of restraint and other sedation would be less expensive and as effective.

As a dental professional, it is your responsibility to make well-informed choices about sedation and restraint methods. For instance, individuals with autism or cerebral palsy may find that restraints are not only necessary, but even welcomed when compared to the use of drugs that can do more harm than the good that the dentistry is trying to achieve. Restraints may not be a better choice for toddlers whose biggest problem is a helicopter parent or two who are freaked out about the psychological trauma of having an irreparable tooth pulled. If a parent freaks, most likely so will the child, so it may be your choice to pander to the whiny world of children who are more in charge than their parents. After all, it’s no big deal to go under GA for a five-minute ear tube procedure with the ENT, right? That’s expected.

No matter what you decide to do, as long as you’re doing it from a level of comfort with your ability, and most importantly, from a sense of compassion, you should be able to confidently make the call for each patient, no matter where it falls on this line.

But sometimes, you just want to throw up your hands and say “AHHHHH I QUIT!” because you don’t know how to manage a patient. That’s when it’s awesome to have someone in your contact list who you trust to make this call.

And then pass the buck to them, because referring out can be very, very gratifying at times.

There’s nothing worse in the fashion world than being stuck in an outdated trend. Five years ago you would have thought that all the reception rooms of dental offices were filled to capacity because of all the patients demanding that their teeth reflect the times with grills of gold teeth.

But that’s not the case today.

The economy has since tanked and the price of gold is higher than ever (currently over $1,100 per ounce). The only one glinting a smile of 14 karats these days is Lady Gaga, and she safely skirts the hip-hop genre by going all Team Edward with vampire fangs.

So when dental gold is out (literally), you can impress your patients with a small token of your appreciation. Take out their gold crowns, inlays, bridges, and then give it to the patient along with a postage-paid envelope.

What’s cool about this deal is where the envelope goes. Not to some shady “Cash4Gold” operation. It goes to a reputable company that will pay your patients back a fair price.

And here comes the best part: Garfield Refining Company is so generous, they’ll give you ten percent for the referral. Don’t be afraid to let your patients know that you’re getting a kickback. They’ll just be happy that you’re not keeping all the dental gold for yourself.

So click this Garfield box on the left to enroll in the Patient Bling Program and get a few envelopes for your office. Nevermind that they still call it the Scrap Program; they just haven’t seen this review yet.

You also might want to look through Dental Products Report’s list of gold refining companies. And in case you were wondering, this is not a paid advertisement. Garfield Refining simply has a great idea that spreads goodwill and makes money for everyone.