Friday, April 09, 2010

Torture!

Those of who who are on Facebook will no doubt have heard that I have recently been to the dentist. 'And why is this so big a deal?' I hear you ask. Well, I am absolutely terrified of dentists and that fear kept me away from a dentist for roughly 12 or 13 years.

About ten years ago I was in a cinema (I have no idea which movie we were seeing) and I was chewing on a Mintie and suddenly there was something foreign and crunchy in my Mintie. It turns out that besides being moreish and yummy, Minties are also very good at removing fillings...
And so I had a nasty big hole in my tooth that I went on to ignore for a very long time, much the same way as a teenage girl would ignore Ricky Martin's obvious homosexuality. But over time the hole got bigger and deeper and a couple of weeks ago it started to get very sensitive to cold foods and then it got very achy and I really couldn't put it off any longer and so I made an appointment with a dentist. Obviously I don't have a dentist to call my own and no one I knew could really recommend a good one near me and so in homage to the place I lost my filling, I recalled the Abashee Dental Clinic ad that plays before every movie one can see at Ace Cinemas in Midland. Heck, cinema advertising has to pay off somehow, right?

Fate was in good humour that day as it turned out they had a free appointment that afternoon. When I arrived they were all very nice to me (the receptionist had asked initially why it had been so long and I had told her of my fears) but I still was extremely nervous. Monica (the lady in the white coat with the scary drill) wanted to know what had caused my fear and I couldn't decide if it was either a) having the anesthetic wear off while having teeth pulled out before my braces and feeling everything or b) having the cement of my braces chipped off with a chisel (ouch!) or c) waking up several hours after getting home from the hospital after having wisdom teeth removed to find electrodes still attached and freaking out. But I feel that I have an honest enough reason to dislike dentists!

Monica poked around and told me I needed a very big filling and while she was sticking painful needles into my mouth and gums I started to really lose it. Within minutes I was having a full on panic attack with tears and hyperventilating, plus due to my numbed state, much drooling. It took a long while for Monica and her assistant to calm me down but they eventually did, although they had really wanted to call someone to come be with me but no one was available. But they were lovely and managed to fill the gaping hole in my tooth and were so nice that I felt brave enough to make an appointment for a scale and clean.

And so it was due to that appointment that I found myself back there today. I was prepared however and had one of my best friends with me to hold my hand (and also to joke extensively at my expense but I digress). I got through it relatively unscathed, was told that I had lovely white teeth but that I also required three more fillings and I should get a splint to stop me from grinding my teeth at night.

*sigh* fare thee well pay check :(

Oh, and I was given a prescription for some sedatives that I must take before I have the fillings to prevent another panic attack. And if they don't work they have gas as a back up. And if the gas doesn't work, Monica is prepared to dose me with Valium...

Obviously I left a lasting impression lol.

I'm just hoping that by the time this next appointment is over, I shall be an old hand at the torture chamber and will be less fearful of returning.

5 comments:

Shawna said...

Sounds like they worked very hard to make you feel comfortable! It's nice to find a good dentist, because definitely a bad one will keep you away!

I'm proud of you for going anyhow (and oh yes, I think you had valid reasons to be freaked about going)! *bighugs*

Tah said...

I'm very proud of you for going and getting it taken care of. After what you went through when you were younger I can see why you had issues.

But it's important to take good care of your teeth and I hope you will continue to go in for your regular check-ups and cleanings. (This coming from a guy with generally bad teeth, but I still go to the dentist regularly!) :-)

And Gauva must be the mascot for some sports team. My verification word is gogauva(!).

Mouse said...

I know just how you feel - for a long time my dentist prescribed me sedatives to take before visits. It really helps to have a dentist who understands too. I'm proud of you for going. *hugs*

(Word verification - 'mograck'. Some sort of holder for cats?)

Smerk said...

Huh...my dentist never suggested sedatives after my huge panic attack when he tried to do a root canal on me. I'm still glad I ended up getting that done under a general anaesthetic, though.

Acci said...

I wonder if Dr. McNinja does dentistry? Then you can get fillings without even noticing that anything happened!

And Smerk, your dentist probably likes to watch your skill at flailing around.