Ow

I have always loved going to the Dentist. I have never been afraid of getting my teeth fixed. In fact, I have been known to fall asleep in the Dentists chair regularly. I think it has something to do with being reclined, the soft warm glow of the lights and already having my mouth open. I just love the end result: teeth so smooth and silky you could mistake them for silk. The only thing I struggle with while in the dental chair is where to cast my gaze. For a long time there were no TV's in the office and I always felt awkward just staring into the hygienist's eyes, and I wondered if they were thinking "quit staring at me....look somewhere else, I just work here". But then they got TV's which alleviated some of the pressure, but they are always to the side and make my inner eyeballs hurt from looking one direction for too long. I got my teeth cleaned in August which was amazing after the long summer months except for the cavity I pointed out to the Dentist. We filled it and voile la! Back to normal, until a couple of weeks ago. I started feeling pain when brushing my teeth, on the lower right side (as they say in the dental world). It didn't hurt when I ate, just when I brushed my teeth. I got some Sensodyne toothpaste and no change. The same vein puncturing pain was still there. That's when I knew I had to get a professional. Well.. that and the big dark spot forming in my tooth. I got an appt and went straightaway after my nanny job. My Dentist bills himself as "gentle dental" and normally that is correct. I never feel anything and if I happen to I never mind because I've always been a sucker for that dull mouth pain. In fact, I always loved having a loose tooth so I could slowly push on it....good times. But back to today, I sat in the chair, leaned back and waited for my prognosis. "Wow, no pain when you eat...just when you brush? That's definitely a new one" said the assistant. Oh great I thought. I have just been diagnosed with a rare form of tooth something. Then the doctor came in, "so are talking about this brown spot here?" he said using a mirror. "No, this one....wait, what other brown spot?!" I squeaked. I felt like I had just gone to Dr. Ray's office and he told me that I should probably fix my saddle bags and drooping eye's when all I wanted was to fix a scar. "This huge dark area that hurts when I brush" I repeated. So he poked around and around and scraped here and there before consulting some x-rays. "I don't really see anything on the x-rays" he said. "When did you take those x-rays because I don't remember having any recently" I pointed out. "Yeah, these are from January. We should probably take some new ones". Thanks Doc, did I really have to tell you that? Aren't you supposed to know? Before you all start labeling me an anti-dentite keep listening, it gets better. "Well, it looks like an old filling is beginning to darken and since its bothering you we'll just replace it, got time right now?" he said. "Yup, let's do it" I replied. And then things began to get a little too Halloween for me. He numbed the area and then began giving me shots with the largest metal syringe I have ever seen. It seemed like forever he had his hand in my mouth and he just kept injecting, injecting and injecting into my gums. Finally with that done he asked me if I had a bad taste in my mouth and I answered no, not wanting to admit that I actually liked the taste of the stuff. And then the fun began. He pulled out the small drill, no sweat. We go way back. Then he pulled out the industrial drill that could have made its way through concrete. He lowered it into my mouth and all of the sudden I was covered in goose bumps and body shakes. My brain was sloshing to and fro with the sound of a metal zip-line in my left ear and a weed-whacker in my right. I had never experienced this drill before. It just kept coming, again and again and again. I wanted to scream "I don't like this very much!" but I just clasped my hands tighter and waited for the earthquake to subside. He rinsed the hole out while the assistant drained the water and sucked up my tongue with the suction hose over and over. He filled it with some white substance that smelled like a construction site which made me think he was basically dry-walling my mouth. Electric lights, hard pressure, metal pieces...it was all a blur. Then he asked for "the explorer" and received a large hook which he picked at my tooth with and I kept thinking, "please don't slip, don't slip and hook my cheek like a trout". Finally he said "we will just sand this down a bit and you'll be done". Finally! He began to sand away and it made this terrible high pitched noise that was new to me. And all I could think in my head was..."those are the sound of the shrieking eels, they always grow louder when they are about to feed on human flesh!". Done. And as I sat up he said "its a good thing we replaced this, there was some deterioration there, good call". GOOD CALL? YOU ARE THE DENTIST, YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS STUFF!!!!!!