A fat lower lip
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| Etsy |
Unlike some of you out there who actually enjoy getting your teeth cleaned (crazies), I abhor going to the dentist. Ever since I had an evil bearded one try to file my teeth down without any anesthetic, they've been on my List That Starts With An S. So I pre-warned my new Dreaded Dentist that I did not want to feel a single thing. I didn't mind the number of shots I had to get - just none of that nasty drill-hitting-the-nerve stuff.
His swift "no problem" response was reassuring. And then he leaned my chair back, gave me some wicked wireless, bluetooth headphones, and put on The Voice on the tv screen in the ceiling. Only then did I realized how poorly my other dentists had been treating me!* Oh, and the loads of anesthesia definitely helped. Dental work? What dental work? I was too busy gazing into Blake Shelton's baby blues.
If not for how fat my lower lip felt after my dental procedure and the fact that I was literally drooling on my way out the door, you would have seen a big smile on my face. After the Dreaded Dentist! Unheard of.
The Dreaded Dentist is no more and it just goes to show: 1) You psych yourself out way more than you need to and 2) Modern medicine is a wonderful thing.
*My other dentists weren't that bad. But I'm spoiled now.
I always get so distracted by the music and/or tv, and dare I say so comfortable... that the hygienist has to constantly remind me to open my mouth. :/ Also, my gums are receeding because braces shifted my teeth too quickly, plus they say I'm an intense tooth brusher. You can't win! Props to you returning from your dental hiatus!
ReplyDeleteUgh I hate the dentist but now I go every 6 months but when I was in my 20's I didn't go at all and when I went back to the dentist I was so afraid but realized how important it is to just go even if it is awful.
ReplyDeleteDentists are the worst. I'm so afraid I'm going to have to have my wisdom teeth out this year and I'm pretending that they don't exist - which is usually how I react to medical issues. And it's weird but I would rather have a cavity drilled without anesthetic than have a needle - makes no sense.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that everything went well. When I got my wisdom teeth removed I listened to loud music all the time because the noises were so horrible. It really helps! But yeah, the drooling is a bit annoying! :)
ReplyDeleteIt's been a very long time since I've been to the dentist. I'm bad. And scared. It's one of my failings. I know. You've given me hope!
ReplyDeleteI hate going to the dentists too! I always avoid at all costs but once in the while I know I have to have a check up and face them - with sweating palms!
ReplyDeleteThe Young Bridget Jones
Who are these people that enjoy getting their teeth cleaned at the dentist?!
ReplyDeleteActually, I've had the same dentist since I was a kid and he is best. Really gentle and unerstanding and always asks, "are you doing okay?" So getting my teeth cleaned has never been THAT horrid of an experience for me (with the exception of the time I lost my insurance and had to go to a doctor I now refer to as "the butcher"). But I'm really glad you had such a comfortable experience. More should make it that comfy for their patients. Esepcially since going to the dentist is so widely abhorred.
Don't let the other dentists off the hook! I used to think I had a really high tolerance for novacane (or whatever they use), but it was just that former dentists didn't use enough. ("Gee, that should be numb.")
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you found a non-Dreaded Dentist. Perhaps you were smiling afterwards, but just couldn't feel it. I'm picturing Liz Lemon after her trip to the dentist. :)
Hahaha oh poor dearie, I don't like going to the dentist
ReplyDeletebut again who does? Glad your new dentist is a lot more
gentle than your previous one. I want to listen music as
well when my dentist is working on my teeth!! Xx
LOLZ...yes, a good dentist always helps:D
ReplyDelete*whispers* Our dentist is nice, but I still don't like going...
i abhor the dentist. i was actually getting nervous reading! i held off getting my wisdom teeth pulled for like a decade because i was just so so scared. i had to get three out and the nut of a dentist pull all three at once. then i had to go in for fillings and cleaning and ugh. my current dentist is alright but our first meeting was a nightmare. i once cried because i told them i'm really sensitive and i feel everything since my filling was really close to the nerve so i need a lot of anesthesia. but he didn't believe me and it took me crying because of the pain for him to finally give me the dose i needed. that kinda shocked everyone. after that another dentist in the office greets me now. lol. ah i just hate dentists!
ReplyDeleteLol. This totally happened to me too. Except I didn't go for at least 10 years. I know. It was not pretty. When I first went back I told my dentist the same thing (i absolutely hate pain/low pain threshold ftw) so he gave me novacaine (i.e. numbed the shit out of my mouth) and I didn't feel a thing. Funny thing is, at my dentist there's a separate person who does the cleaning the teeth thing and the actual dentist does all the hard stuff, like cavities + crowns + etc. Good thing my teeth cleaner is the best. I'm so sad that I might be leaving her when I eventually move out of New York though. :(
ReplyDeletehaha, same here. I once managed to not go for five (f-i-v-e!!!) years. same thing. some a-hole of a dentist, actually a few of them, had scared me for life. these days, however, I go twice a year. and I almost don't mind. hadn't had any music yet. so maybe that's the key to actually liking it :)
ReplyDeleteI don't mind regular cleanings, but I'm not a huge fan of anything more than that. I've only had one cavity before, and that process sucked but I didn't feel anything. When I started thinking about what was going on with the drill and everything I started getting panicky, though! When I was a kid and had to get fitted for my retainer, they filled my mouth with wet clay to get an impression. I had the LARGEST panic attack in the chair, crying hysterically, convinced the clay was going to slide down my throat, harden, block my windpipe, and kill me. It didn't. Yay! xo
ReplyDeleteI currently have at least 3 cavities (that I know of), 2 wisdom teeth that need to come our and a broken tooth. Um... I need to come see your dentist lol.
ReplyDeletethis made me laugh. blake shelton. i have actually been watching the voice this season, it's pretty good, i think the whole 'steal' angle got me hooked.
ReplyDeletei am so glad you found a good dentist! it's important, i have had some very, very bad one. and then i had the best dentist in the world, dr. pham. oh my i love him. he was insanely good and kind and his shots never hurt, you couldn't feel a thing. at all. nothing. he was so good i told everyone i knew and he got all these new clients. i am sure this happened with all of his patients - he was that good. because then he left to open his own practice across town in a fancy building and with really high prices. and so we broke up and i haven't been to the dentist since. i just can't see anyone else, i have tried. and i really need to. it's been a couple years for me too and i was not born with erins apparent genetics. ugh!
TV screen on the ceiling?! Luxury! I hate feeling all the gross little bits that get filed off the teeth when the dentist cleans them, and hearing it through my mouth. Eurgh! Glad you've got over the dread.
ReplyDeleteI want headphones and a TV too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That said, I am good about getting my teeth cleaned every 6 months now because as a child, I got waaaaaaay too many cavities. Many a dentist has commented that I have a mouth of a senior citizen because I have so many fillings, it's like I don't have teeth :(. Took J to his first dentist appointment last week. Went badly. But at least he had no cavities.
ReplyDeleteOk I definitely need to find a fancy dentist ASAP - I hate going!
ReplyDeleteI haven't gotten a teeth cleaning... in years! And I know I need to soon.
ReplyDelete7% Solution
Eeh, I do need to make an appointment to go the dentist. I'm pondering whether or not to find a new dentist. The one I used to go to was great--he didn't harangue and he was a complete nut, so I always ended up laughing. But he's since divorced and remarried a dental hygienist; now they have a business together and let's just say their new website is cause for concern . . . :)
ReplyDeleteUgh... You remind me... I need to go too. I hate them, but only because I know I'm going to need to get my wisdom teeth out sooner rather than later. I dread this. Dread it. Been running away from it for a couple of years now. Hoping I'll get someone like your dentist, but even still. Good for you for going and getting it done.
ReplyDeleteI've never had a cavity. And I usually go to the dentist about once a year (ideally twice a year, but who has the money) so I've never had a super bad dentist experience. But this sounds lovely.
ReplyDeleteI hate going there - the sounds of the tools are just bloody awful. Gah! :-P
ReplyDeletehttp://tinajoathome.com/
I really want the feet on the picture above to be junior mints. The dentist isn't fun for me either, but I guess you have to go and it's great that the fancy dentist visit worked out well!
ReplyDeleteHaha, I have always loved your humor & quirkiness. :) And with me scheduling my own dental appointment, I couldn't have read this at a better time!
ReplyDelete