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Thursday, September 25, 2008

Observations from a Scary Place

It's a scary place to be. The dentist chair. I had an appointment the other day to get some fillings and I just happened to notice a couple of things. Here are my observations:

NOTE: Some of this may be disgusting or whatever. If you have a queasy stomach, read until you can't take it...or don't read at all. ;) It's a dentist office and we all know what happens there. Ok, let's get on with it.

1) It's pretty amazing how much they try to make a torture room look welcoming. Next time you're at the dentist, take a glance at all the things there that really don't need to be there, but add something to the room to make you feel a little less stressed. My dentist office had a small garden outside the window and some bird feeders. It was a small fence-enclosed area, but a nice touch nonetheless. Plus, there's a window right in front of me...an extra that I will not take for granted. At least I can see what freedom looks like...

2) Piggy-backing off of point 1, a TV in the dentist chair is the best idea since Super Nintendo (actually Super Nintendo in the chair too would be awesome)! Not only was it cool to watch some sports and calm my nerves a little more, but it gave the doctor something to talk to me about before drilling my face off. It was a nice moment of connecting before the drill came out.

3) It's always a bad sign when the hygienist hands the doctor a syringe and then places her hand on your shoulder to pin you down. You know that's going to hurt. I'm sure it would hurt more if I jerked my body up as he was pushing the syringe in. I'm going to move on now before I pass out.

4) I actually prefer going to the dentist for a filling over a bi-yearly clean. It's straight down to business, they numb your face, and there's not a ton of poking and scraping. It's drill, scrub, replace, dry, and buff. Done and done. I had two this time and I was in the chair for about half an hour. Not too shabby. Sure they threw in the usual, "brush more, floss more, blah blah blah...", but it wasn't so much that I wanted to stab them in the retina with a toothbrush. Also, you don't have to wait for the doctor to get to everyone else. He/She is the one working on you, so when the procedure is done, you're good to go. Nice.

5) One of the worst things in the world is having to deal with a numb face for a few hours afterward. I literally was watching the clock every second to see how much longer it was going to take. You feel like everyone is staring at you and you're always wondering if there is drool coming out of your mouth that you can't feel. Also, it's really hard to talk to people and smile as part of your lip is dead. I looked in the mirror a lot wondering if the lip was swollen.

6) Expensive...period.

Those are my quick thoughts and observations. All in all, this visit wasn't too bad. Of course, I'm not going to pencil one in every week, but it's doable at least once a year. :)

Now go brush your teeth!

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