Dentist

So I just got back from the dentist.  I have always hated the dentist growing up.  My dentist in PA always seemed borderline creepy to me.  He sort of reminded me of a preacher you would see on TV.  Over the years he inflicted much pain to me.  When I was younger I just didn’t put much of a priority on taking care of my teeth.  I remember swishing milk around my mouth as appointments approached, thinking that would somehow help prevent cavities.  It didn’t work,  I bet I had a dozen cavities growing up.

Somewhere along the way, the light bulb clicked on that maybe if I took better care of my teeth I wouldn’t have to be tortured twice a year.  I started brushing my teeth regularly.  Then I started to use fluoride rinses.  Now it has gotten to the point where I use two rinses in the morning, one at night and also brush my teeth 4 times a day.  The extra tooth brushing came about due to my invisalign treatment.  Whenever I ate food I had to brush my teeth before putting the invisalign back in.  However I have kept up that routine even now that I am no longer wearing them.

As a result I have had no real tooth problems for ages.  When we moved to Florida I found a female dentist around my age whom is very nice and friendly.  I no longer dread my dental appointments.  Well today there was a little bump in the road.  The doc said there was a tooth she wanted to do a sealant on which is a minor thing but it still involves using power tools.  I just don’t react well to having power tools in my mouth. I wish they could have just done it right then to get it out of the way, but I have to go back.

As I was having my teeth cleaned, scraped and flossed today, I constantly caught myself administering a death grip to the arm of the dentist chair.  Even though there was no real pain, having someone in my mouth seems to instantly tense me up.  When I noticed I was squeezing the life out of the arm of the chair I would relax my grip, only to find myself doing it again a minute later.  It must be flashbacks of my childhood dental nightmares.

So tomorrow I get to do another uncomfortable thing, get a physical at the doctor.  I have to fast starting at 8 o’clock tonight.  I will be starvin like Marvin by the time I am done with the physical.  The blood draw will not be a good thing, I can’t watch it.  Hopefully the uncomfortable groping will be minimal.