.zfs folder's missing, but snapshots are still there and mountable (inode trouble?)

$ sudo zfs list -t snapshot | grep childDataset3

a whole bunch are listed as expected (e.g. pool/dataset/childDataset3@today)

$ ls /pool/dataset/childDataset3/.zfsls: cannot access '/pool/dataset/childDataset3/.zfs': No such file or directory

I have other child datasets, and I can see the snapshot dir inside .zfs for them; and, I can even mount a snapshot from the above list from the one troublesome dataset (so they exist, just not as a nice list in a normal spot that users can dip into):

$ sudo mkdir /mnt/tempShadow$ sudo mount -t zfs pool/dataset/childDataset3@today /mnt/tempShadow

i.e. I can browse one snapshot of files this way; also noteworthy, when I run the disk filesystems command with show inodes, all of the working datasets and child datasets show up EXCEPT for the one I'm having trouble with (what I'm calling "childDataset3"):

$ df -ipool                               232594013966       9 232594013957    1% /poolpool/dataset                       232600679652 6665695 232594013957    1% /pool/datasetpool/dataset/childDataset1         232596006126 1992169 232594013957    1% /pool/dataset/childDataset1pool/dataset/childDataset2         232594839509  825552 232594013957    1% /pool/dataset/childDataset2pool/dataset/childDataset4         230211379723 3040916 230208338807    1% /pool/dataset/childDataset4

so is there a way to re-create the child dataset's inode? (forgive me if I'm totally saying that wrong)

using zfs version 0.7.12-2+deb10u2 if that matters

my backup solution is to switch users to the replicated dataset (on another server), and then destroy this dataset, then send a snapshot back (but I want to avoid this, because 32TB doesn't just pop over)