I have probably the biggest sweet tooth, but I absolutely abhor going to the dentist and always have. Ask my mom. I once ran out onto the street from a dentist chair when I was 6 or 7. I just always hated the cleanings and always ended up with cavities to be filled.
As I got older, I adjusted to being in the dentist’s chair, but was still uncomfortable. What started to bother me more was paying the bills. I was under the impression that dentists rip you off (and some do) and unless I had pain in my tooth, I would hardly follow recommendations for dental work.
My only good experience was with the dentist I dated. Yes, I dated one of my many dentists. He was nice enough, obviously not a big love interest (we dated only for a month), but he was a good, ethical dentist. Told me only what I absolutely had to get done. Of course, he didn’t make much on me that month because I got a lot of free dental work! But I digress …
Why this big rant about dentists? Because I have one of those dreaded dentist appointments tomorrow. Not just with a dentist, but an oral surgeon.
You see, I got all of my wisdom teeth removed except for one pesky tooth. The dentist I dated said I could wait until it bothered me to get it removed. That was 7 years ago. So I waited. And waited. The three dentists I’ve seen since him always said, “you know, you should get that last wisdom tooth removed.” I said happily, “but it doesn’t bother me.” And it still doesn’t.
I finally decided I should take advantage of the great insurance we have right now and torture myself. Because maybe someday the damn tooth will bother me. And with my luck, it will be the day I don’t have insurance, don’t have a job …
It’s a big deal to get it removed because of my age, apparently. I don’t know exactly what they said, but they scared me. Something about the slight chance they’d hit the wrong nerve. If you can remember, I didn’t have the best odds with my eye surgery and became a statistic. So we’ll hope for better outcomes this time. I think I’m more nervous about being “put under.” I’ve never gotten anesthesia for anything!
So this post is a plea for you to think of me while I’m in the “chair” tomorrow.