My Return To the Dreaded Dentist

A dentist's view of my choppers.
© shoutingforha

As I mentioned yesterday, I went to the dentist for the first time in, well, forever. I would be lying if I told you that I made the appointment of my own accord. The truth is that my dear hubby, who is an excellent dental patient, urged me to pay his dentist, Dr. K., a visit. Begrudgingly, I agreed to give his man a try.

When I initially made my appointment, I made sure to tell the woman who answered the phone about my extreme dislike for dentists. She assured me that they would make my visit as painless as possible. I muttered a polite, "Thank you," but what I really wanted to say was, "We'll just see about that."

Just as my hubby said, the staff at the office were delightful. They made sure that I was comfortable and at ease during the entire visit. My hygienist was, without a doubt, the best one I've ever seen. I never felt even the slightest twinge of discomfort as she cleaned my teeth. And Dr. K., well, he was a lovely man and I liked him immediately.

Darn you Dr. K. How am I supposed to hate you when you are so gosh darn nice?!

For the record, they both told me that they would have never guessed it had been nearly a decade since my last cleaning. I am happy to report that my teeth and gums looked great!

Thankfully, I have been blessed with good teeth. I've never had a cavity, in part due to some sealants that my dentist put in my four back molars when I was a child.  I was born with especially deep grooves in some of my choppers.

I was not surprised to learn that most of the sealants had fallen out during the nearly three decades they spent in my mouth. Dr. K. thought it would be wise to go on ahead and remove the old and replace them with something new. I made an appointment for the very next morning. No sense in putting it off.

I am delighted to say that the procedure was completely painless.  Dr. K. made sure that I had several injections of Novocaine before he began.  As the medication began to kick in, I was struck by the realization that no other dentist had ever taken the time to properly numb my mouth.  He did such a great job that I couldn't feel my jaw, tongue or lower lip for almost five hours. 

My experience was so great that I went on ahead and made an appointment for my next cleaning in six months. To my surprise, I am actually looking forward to it.

Wonders never cease.