The Dentist

I went to the Dentist today. There are a few of you that will realize the impact of that statement. But for those of you who don't you must know that I have not nor will I ever like going to the dentist. Ever since I was the age of three I have had horrible experiences at the dentist. I have always had really bad teeth due to soft enamel or something crazy like that. I always went to the dentist regularly and I always took care of my teeth, but it never failed that there always had to be major work done each visit there. Growing up we lived fairly close to our dentist's office. We would often drive by there on our way to different places. I hated the dentist's office so badly that whenever we would drive by I would duck down and try to get on the floor of the car until we were past. (except when my dad thought it was funny to stop out front and tell me we actually already had past.) I have many memories of them having to call in extra assistants just to hold my arms and legs down as they filled my cavities. I look at it as child abuse, but they called it dentistry. Of course I always got to choose a prize out of the treasure box before I left, but that didn't make it any better. I remember one of the worst days was when they would no longer allow my mom to come back in the room with me. (And if my mom would have been in town today I would have requested that she come along.) I'm sure she loved sitting in the waiting room listening to my fits of anger. I also remember when I was about 16 years old and the dental assistant yelled, yes yelled, at me because the "8 year old boy who was just in here was acting a lot more brave" than I was. I didn't care, I didn't like being there. Don't get me wrong, I had a great dentist. He was a great person, he just chose a horrible profession. He was nice, although he always liked to ask me questions just as he stuck his hands in my mouth. I always wondered if he actually understood the answers that I tried to give him or if he would just smile and nod anyway. I just don't know what there is to enjoy about going to the dentist. Their offices always smell badly, there is a constant drilling sound in the background, and I still don't know why I always have to answer if I have ever taken the medication phen-phen. (and no I haven't.)

After Andrew and I got married I just never got around to making a dentist appointment. I would always think about it just as the insurance we were on was about to end. So I conveniently kept putting off going to the dentist. Well I knew we finally had to do it sometime so I got a recommendation from a friend and made an appointment. And in case you were wondering, I had a perfect check-up today. I knew three years wasn't too long to wait in between visits! Overall I was pretty impressed with the dentist. They have a lot of new technology that I hadn't ever seen before. They took a million x-rays but they were all put up digitally on the screen. Everything was over pretty quickly. I only saw the actual dentist for about 5 minutes, but I think I definitely prefer it that way. I do have to admit that even though I dislike going to the dentist, I do love the way that my teeth feel when I leave!

I found this great cartoon that definitely expresses my feelings:

Do you like to go to the dentist?

(sorry Cory, no offense intended ... I'm sure that you will be a great dentist.)