Tuesday, August 11, 2009

The Torture Chair

Today I ventured to the dentist for a cleaning. Let me be the first to say that I am not a fan of the dentist. I always have such anxiety when I know I need to go. Because of that, I had not been to the dentist in almost 5 years when I went this past spring. I was so impressed with the dentist I saw because he did not chastise me, he let me know that I needed to come in but he didn't make me feel like a 5 year old. I was happy that I didn't have any cavities however he let me know that I did need to work on flossing more (I always get told that even when I go to the dentist on a regular basis).

I was actually looking forward to my cleaning appointment today, I knew it might be a little rough and the dentist had warned me that I would be sore (he originally had an appointment available the 15th of June but with the hubby coming home on the 16th there was no way I was gonna have a sore mouth for reunion kissing!). What I did not expect was the torture I experienced. I have never had an appointment as painful as today was, not even as a 10 year old getting a root canal. Good grief, I swear that hygienist was trying to reach my heart through my gum line. I kept waiting for one of my teeth to pop out because she was digging so deep into my gums. She went from a normal scalpel to an electric one.

I don't deny that this was my fault for not going to the dentist for 5 years but geez louise, I felt like she was punishing me for that fact. At one point, she was drilling away and her thumbnail was putting so much pressure on my gums that she had just drilled to death that I had to clench my whole body. She said in a very snotty voice, "sorry". It was obvious that she wasn't and I wanted to stab her with the scalpel. I am proud for not hitting her or yelling at her, I just closed my eyes and prayed for the experience to end quickly. Occasionally a stray tear would run out of my left eye. I didn't feel like I was crying but my body was certainly reacting to the torture.

That was seriously one of the most painful dental experiences I have ever had. I can tell you that from here on out, I will be going to my cleaning appointments every 6 months faithfully!!

3 comments:

Bringhurst Family said...

Well sometimes I really think it's the hygienist. Because I go every 6 months like clock work. I can actually fall asleep there I'm so relaxed. But one time they had me spitting blood. So Uh I never went back to that one. Of course 5 years of build up may just be a challenge for any hygienist. Brandon hates going to.

Michelle said...

Oh that sucks I'm sorry. I have terrible experiences with dentists, and I have really bad teeth, I always have. I was born a preemie and apparently my permanent teeth have been punished for my lack of time spent in the womb ever since. That's what I am told anyway. That and a combo of growing up on a farm drinking well water that wasn't flourinated. (Since I just got spell checked on Flourinated I'm guessing it's not a word, but I'm stickin' with it, lol)

Amy said...

I hate the teeth cleaning, some of my gums have receded so it feels like they are striking the nerves and then keep doing it for fun, I always want to punch the lady! lol