Dentist

If you can't bite, don't show your teeth.

Yiddish Proverb


Once in the last five years. That's how many times I have been to the dentist. Pretty scary..both going and not going to the dentist. In reality average people know very little about the inner workings of our bodies. Most people can tell you more about how to work a computer than they can tell you about how their circulatory system functions. I am pretty much the same way, especially with regards to my teeth.
If they hurt, I don't really worry about it. I just don't eat ice cream on the side that hurts. Nothing is as uncomfortable as having someone drilling on your tooth, and that sound it makes...very much unacceptable. Also the "pain killer" that they use? Novacaine hurts when they inject it, takes 20 minutes to kick in (by which time the dentist is totally done with the drilling) and your mouth is numb and weird feeling for the rest of the day. I say no thank you to the whole ball of wax. If I don't go to the dentist then I'll never have a root canal, right?
As faithful readers of this blog will recall I went to the doctor two weeks ago for a physical. The doctor asked me about the dentist, not an unheard of question but a strange one just the same. As I tried to explain to him why I don't like to go to the dentist he informed me that gum disease and heart disease have been shown to be linked and the only way to see if you have gum disease is to go to the dentist.
Now that I have a wife and a daughter my mortality and fears of my own demise have become more commonplace. I have been assured that this is more or less a common fear among new parents which makes sense. Now that here is this tiny creature that is totally dependent on you, you feel obligated to take care of yourself. My wife and I quit smoking, we're starting to watch what we eat, we take vitamins and we try to get regular exercise.
With my doctor's prodding I made an appointment with a dentist and surprisingly didn't have to wait six months to see him. It was only a two day wait, not really long enough to get stressed or concerned about it. Everything went pretty well at the dentist actually, the x-rays are done differently than I remember, the chairs are still very uncomfortable but the office was relaxing and the staff was friendly.
Bottom line, four cavities all small, no gum disease but my teeth need a good cleaning. I guess five years is just about the right amount of time between dental visits.