CBS2's Lonnie Quinn Faces Tough Decision As Daughter's Dental Procedure Approaches

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- It's many parents' struggle, how to help your child get through a painful dental procedure.

Now, it's happening to the daughter of CBS2's own Lonnie Quinn.

As CBS2 viewers weighed in on Facebook with different strategies, CBS2's Vanessa Murdock went to check out the options.

Lily has a smile that melts hearts, especially her father's.

Lonnie's little lady is just 3-and-a-half years old. A few weeks ago she slipped in the tub and cracked her two front baby teeth.

"The dentist said 'listen, we've got some big problems here, the roots are severed, they've got to come out,'" Lonnie said.

Lonnie said if you saw Lily today, you'd never know anything was wrong. She can even bite into an apple, but she does have one grey tooth.

She's still smiling, but dad is a little uneasy.

"I feel so on edge about this whole thing," Lonnie said.

Now, he needs to make a decision, either lay with his daughter during the procedure and restrain her, or use a dental papoose.

"It looks like a straitjacket. It was pink, but it looks like a straitjacket," he said.

Some parents opt to use it to guarantee restraint, or because some parents can't mentally or physically do it.

CBS2 reached out to Dr. Penny Resnick Graulich, a pediatric dentist. She said there is no papoose in her office because she believes it's better for parents to hold the child.

"The parent is always there and there's a certain level of comfort that creates," she said.

Dr. Resnick said children tend to be more comfortable than parents because they have no prior experience with dental surgery.

"You really have a clean pallet. It's all how you explain it, the parent is sometimes phobic and transfers that to the child," Resnick said.

Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Jeffrey Gardere assured CBS2 that children bounce back quickly.

"They get through it. Their lives are less complicated," he said, "They have much more happiness than we do, because as parents we think about the complications."

Lonnie said not only is Lily cool with it, she's excited about it. He is dreading it, but know he's gotta be there for his little girl.

"I've heard stories, 'daddy please get me out of here,' and daddy starts to cry. That's not part of my game plan," Lonnie said.