The Dentist....duh duh duuuuhhhhh

Let me just start by saying that as a child, I did not particularly enjoy the dentist. Still to this day, I dread going to the dentist. It is just never ever fun and sometimes is rather uncomfortable. Having said all that, I don't remember EVER screaming or throwing a fit at said dentist. Maybe I've just blocked it out of my mind. Fast forward 20-some years to yesterday. Morgan started crying around 8am saying she didn't want to go. I finally sat down with her and had an eye-to-eye conversation where I told her that she was going to the dentist no matter what, so she could have a happy day and go to the dentist or have a sad day and go to the dentist, but the bottom line was....she was going to the dentist. Well, that seemed to work...right up until the time it was her turn to go. This child THREW. A. FIT. I can't even describe to you how bad it was. I was BEYOND embarrassed....especially since the dentist is a friend of mine that I went to High School with! She screamed, she flailed, she held her mouth closed, she blew spit out of her clenched teeth, she grabbed the dentist's hands to try to pry them away from her....all the while, practically hyperventilating! I let them try it on their own for a few minutes until they finally came and got me. I was sweet for about 2 minutes and then I had to be the bad guy. I told her she was having this done no matter what even if that meant holding her down and prying her mouth open.......well, guess what? I had to live up to that threat. Morgan had her teeth cleaned with the dentist sitting ON her legs, the assistant grabbing her legs whenever she managed to flail them free, and me holding her hands so she couldn't grab the dentist's hands and holding her head between my elbows so she couldn't flail it back and forth. Lovely picture, let me tell you. I just don't know what to do! Any suggestions? I've thought about it non stop since then and the only 2 possible things I've come up with are to either take a friend with us to the next appointment (and hope Morgan would be too embarrassed to act that way in front of a friend) or just go to a different dentist and start all over. It has nothing to do with the dentist, Kara is very sweet and kind and has kids of her own so she talks to the kids just fine. There is a pediatric dentist in town who lets the kids have a sandwich bag that they get to take to a treasure chest afterwards and fill up their bag. The promise of loot might work. However, yesterday's promise was no tears=Toys R Us afterwards and that didn't work. After the all the insanity was over and still with tears in her eyes Morgan says "can I go to Toys R Us now?" I laughed in her face and said "are you kidding me?!" Of course, Emma did great, so Emma got to go to Toys R Us! Morgan just followed us around crying the whole time.....she's 6, she's old enough to understand that connection.

OK, open to suggestions............anyone have any?!!?!?!?!?!? (and no, they won't do sedation dentistry on a 6 year old.....I already asked!!!)