[Linking up with yeahwrite and the speakeasy!]
I had to go to the dentist last week. I was scared. Should I have been scared? Yep.
I had to go to the dentist last week. I was scared. Should I have been scared? Yep.
So, here’s the quick and dirty background. My family lost their
dental insurance when I was in high school, and I stopped going to the dentist.
I’ve had a little bit of work done when
necessary, but no regular cleanings/checkups.
Until a few weeks ago, when I realized I’ve had dental
insurance for over a year and no longer have any excuse for not going to the
dentist.
So, I went.
On the up side, the hygienist was friendly and nice. Not
like my last experience with Doctor.
On the down side, it was like a scene out of Dexter (not
that I’ve ever seen Dexter. But I do have an imagination.)
It hurt. A lot. Even with the numbing gel.
You know it’s been too long since you went to the dentist
when they have to say things like:
Let this be a lesson to you all. Go to the dentist. Now. Before the plaque on
your teeth hardens and the dentist has to use a scalpel to get it off and blood
shoots everywhere and you’re totally traumatized.
And a quick follow up note: I had two cavities. I got one
filled last week, and hung out with Boyfriend right after, when my mouth was
still numb.
So quick, go to a dentist before you have to get a cavity
filled and it looks like you have bells palsy and your significant other
doesn’t want to kiss you.
So sorry I have been there! In my early 20's I didn't have dental insurance either and the first two years going regularly to the dentist sucked once I did actually get it. Good news is now I have easy check ups since I go twice a year!
ReplyDeleteHaha, oh no. I hate visiting the dentist.. last time I went I had the blood shooting thing. Oh it was so grim x
ReplyDeleteMy awesome new dentist told me not to floss. NOT. TO. FLOSS. Water pik instead! So far, so good! I go back on Friday to get a couple fillings done/re-done because of my last incompetent, sadist dentist. Also my wisdom teeth really hurt and I'm going to cry tears in heaven when surgery day eventually arrives. And I'm gonna ask to keep my teeth as souvenirs.
ReplyDeleteYou're not wrong, there's a reason why Dentists have such a high suicide rate. But the real sadists are the Hygienists with their hook-happy ways. You asking for a kiss made me laugh, that was good.
ReplyDeleteLOOOL (again, I'm sorry to be laughing) but you're just so hilarious ... I haven't been to the dentist in YEARS too...*quivers* Do I haaave to? :(
ReplyDeleteAnd that is why I don't do the whole dentist thing!
ReplyDeleteI can't stand going to the dentist either. A filling I had done when I was about 10 fell out a few weeks back and I had to go for an emergency appointment. I asked for a prescription for valium. What is it with dentists scaring us all so much?
ReplyDeletei need to go see one :( but i'm dreading it :(
ReplyDeleteI used to have a SEVERE dentist phobia because of one asshole dentist when I was in high school (pulled all 4 wisdom teeth when I'd gone in to get two done and hadn't numbed the other two YOU BITCH, I WILL NEVER FORGET YOU!). Anyway, I have since overcome that fear and am now going a bit too often because of gingivitis. My gums swell easily and there's always blood and well, it's all that one dentist's fault. Is there a statute of limitations on pain and suffering?
ReplyDeleteAs much as I hate anything medical, the dentist is the one place I will force myself to visit every six months. Gingivitis runs on my mom's side of the family and my mother has had bone loss and gum surgery (twice, I believe), and I definitely don't want to follow in her foot steps. :\
ReplyDeleteOuchies! My hubby has a similar story, so I'm the lucky non-phobic one that gets to take all the kids to the dentist, lest his anxiety rub off on them.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I realize this isn't the point, even a little bit, but you should totally watch Dexter. Best show ever.
ReplyDeleteI can't stop laughing. I hate the dentist too and just got dental insurance AND haven't gone in years. I am sure, in a few weeks when it is my turn, I'll stop laughing completely. Glad you survived.
ReplyDeleteI must be a sadist because I love my dentist. I crazy... I know!...
ReplyDeleteI have to be knocked out to go to the dentist. My veneers traumatized me.
ReplyDeleteNitrous oxide, novacaine, valium, and the like make for a pleasant dentist experience.
ReplyDeleteOh no! Poor you! I avoid the dentist too, mostly just out of sheer laziness.
ReplyDeleteValium, Gia. It works wonders.
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain! I didn't go to the dentist for a few (5+) years when I didn't have insurance either. Then I broke a tooth eating Halloween candy. OW! Going back was so traumatizing and painful. Besides the broken tooth, there were multiple cavities they needed to take care of which included a couple crowns. $5000+ uninsured dollars and a year and a half later, my teeth are in good shape. I brush and floss like a mofo now though to make sure that doesn't happen ever again!
ReplyDeleteYep, I had a similar experience that cured me of skipping the Sadist chair, oops, I mean Dentist chair. Funny story and great illustrations as always..
ReplyDeleteI love this! Although it reminds me that I need to go to the dentist.
ReplyDeleteSuper ugh. I hate the dentist. I literally am so dental-phobic that I went 10 years (10 years!!) without going even though we DID have insurance. I finally went about a year ago because of a recurrent pain that I just KNEW was a cavity. Turns out it WASN'T, which was totally surprising and now I don't think I'll ever go again.
ReplyDeleteTerrifying.
My dentist dumped me because I got lost and missed an appointment. He's the dentist Nazi.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
I have to go to the dentist tomorrow and I've never been afraid--until NOW!
ReplyDeleteI actually had a hygienist chastise me once for not flossing when I was doing it twice a day! (It didn't last very long.) She told me I was doing it wrong and should curl the floss around my tooth, then slide it up and down TEN TIMES before moving on to the next side. Yeah, that never happened. I think the hygienists get out their frustrations on our gums.
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ReplyDeleteThe "kiss" panel got a good chuckled out of me.
ReplyDeleteI always wonder if dentists' significant others are bothered by the smell. Because dentists kind of smell funny. And then they say "you might feel some pressure" and I'm thinking "Nope...Nope...that's not pressure. That's PAIN."
ReplyDeleteI totally need to go to the dentist. I am terrified, but it's no excuse. I gotta go. Thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteI hate to go to the dentist. I used to have to cancel my appointments because of panic attacks, but now they don't let me cancel without rescheduling at the same time. And they won't let me reschedule more than once. And they are very nice to me when I cry during the cleanings and then when I cry tears of joy when I don't have a cavity. They also have to remind me to breathe while I'm there. I hate the dentist. Good for you for going!!
ReplyDeleteI just had my teeth cleaned this year. I was terrified at first because it's been years since I last had them cleaned but it turned out okay. And my dentist is pretty cool! :)
ReplyDeleteI love going to the dentist. No matter how much I brush/floss they're never as clean as they are after a visit.
ReplyDeleteGuess I'm the odd one out.
Ugh. I've been putting off going to the dentist for the past two years. My mom has been on my case about it, and now you are too? Geez. The last time I went I had to get half a fake tooth because mine just fell out for no good reason. The dentist was baffled. But installing the half a fake tooth took a lot of drilling and time and I think the smell of ground tooth is disgusting. Ick.
ReplyDeleteSadists! It's true. I had a lapse in dental coverage for about a decade but I've been going again for the past few years. Every visit is a nightmare. I can't even get though the cleaning without crying. I have an appointment on Friday, and I've been stressed about it all week.
ReplyDeleteYeah... I remember the first time I started flossing regularly.
ReplyDeleteOh god the blood. Sink looked like a crime scene after.
You crack me up so much! I'm good about the dentist but I'm definitely going to make my dentist-phobe husband read this when he gets back later this week! You are very talented :)
ReplyDeleteUgh. I've been putting off going to the dentist. I'm totally going to bleed everywhere.
ReplyDeleteOh, boy. I can't even laugh because that's going to be me next month.
ReplyDeleteThe read sadists are the orthodontists. The last time I went to get my braces tightened I was sitting there thinking, "OHMYGOD THAT HURTS NO STOP THAT NO NO OWWWWW GO DIE IN A PIT."
ReplyDeleteSo yeah. At least you don't have sharp metal wires in your mouth. Those chafe and hurt just as much as your tooth cleaning did.
If that dentist isn't giving you gas and air every visit, then I'd take some pain relief before you go next time. And maybe arrange for someone to drive you home, depending on the pain relief you choose and its affects ... Well done for going! No, seriously. You did good. I need a kick up the bum to go and do the same, it's been YEARS since I last saw a sadist. I mean, Dentist.
ReplyDeleteI am still chuckling, this is a great reminder for me to return to the dentist. Getting insurance has always been a challenge and my mouth is an example. I am laughing now but sure I won't be when I realize what I need to have done (and the bill for it). It certainly is important to maintain regular dental visits.
ReplyDeleteI actually never minded the dentist until I was 22 and had an unfortunate drunken accident in college that involved a piggyback ride and a faceplant onto newly paved asphalt. I broke my two front teeth - this was followed by many abscesses, root canals, crowns, oral surgeries, one tooth extraction, and a bridge. Not fun (although the drugs are nice).
ReplyDeleteNow I hate going to the dentist. (But I do have pretty teeth.)
oh christ i hate the dentist
ReplyDeleteCrap. This is me drinking a lot as I face the dentist in one month.
ReplyDeleteOh, man. I'd laugh. But I've got a root canal coming up.
ReplyDeleteI wanted if anyone visits the dentist twice a year, as advised. Probably not even a dentist's own family visits them that often because, yeah total sadists. I saw that movie about the giant plant! I know how it goes. Oh, and I go to the dentists once every three years, It's like I am English.
ReplyDeleteI had a root canal done, Hate going to the dentist!!
ReplyDeleteOw ow ow. I have skipped for up to five years at a time. Some years, especially if I'm switching practices, I just. can't. force. myself. in. Even though it's worse in the long run. I totally hear you.
ReplyDeleteMany of the diseases now days can be traced to how we take care of our teeth. It is so important that we do not let out teeth get out of control.
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