Dentists

If any of all y’all are dentists (or dental technicians, or dental hygienists, or married or cohabitating with one, or related to one, or… you get the picture), I apologize in advance. This isn’t personal.

But I absolutely HATE going to the dentist.

I’ll admit, I hadn’t been in a while. Like, a few years. Probably more than five. Definitely less than ten. Part of it was switching jobs a couple of times, part of it was being without dental insurance for a while, part of it was being really, really busy at the last couple of jobs. But most of it was the aforementioned HATRED for going to the dentist.

Not that my previous dentist or the perfectly nice dentist that has taken over his practice aren’t perfectly lovely human beings. I’m sure they’re all kind to animals, spoil their children, and remember to call their mothers every weekend.

But they hurt you!

Granted, it’s much better today than it was ten or twenty years ago. Getting numbed is much easier, even if the stuff does absolutely taste like crap. But once again I’ve found that the cure is much more problematic than the disease.

I hadn’t gone for the last year primarily because of COVID and quarantine. I was well into the “I really should go in and get checked” phase of the mental process. But then along came COVID and no one in their right mind was going to the dentist and no dentists in their right mind were staying open for the better part of a year. Oopsie, out of my hands!

But they’re opening up, and by about the start of the new year there were a couple of days a week where I was a little sore in the toothage area, so the time had come. (For reference, on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is a twinge and 10 is screaming agony, I was having maybe a high 2 or a low 3 for a couple hours a week.)

I started going at the beginning of February, about eight weeks ago. It’s been…unpleasant.

First visit was X-rays and cleaning and an exam, which left my teeth still occasionally but now hurting worse. Plus my gums were killing me, which they weren’t before. Scale of 1 to 10? Now about a 4 to 5.

Second visit was a root canal and temporary crown, which just about as much fun as…a root canal? For the next week, on a scale of 1 to 10, it was a 7 or an 8.

Third visit was a permanent crown and three fillings. 1 to 10? A solid 6 for a week afterward.

Fourth visit today, well over three hours having another root canal, a temporary crown, four more cavities, and a thorough cleaning. Tonight I’m at an 8 or 9, and that’s with Extra Strength Excedrin every six hours, and that only because they didn’t give me anything stronger.

The best part is that I never know what’s coming up or how long it’s going to take. I didn’t have a clue about the “thorough, deep cleaning and scaling” at the end of today’s visit until I was done with the root canal and fillings and getting ready to leave. “We figured as long as we already had you numbed…”

I hate going to the dentist!