Dentists

[triskellian]

Last week's trip to the dentist was fine. No work required, no problems, nice dentist, nurse also about to get married (there was a certain amount of bonding over being fed up with the whole thing and just wanting it to be over now ;-), hardly any money at all. All that I needed to do was come back in a week for a cleaning.

I went today. I'm still not scared of dentists, but I now understand a little more why some people are.

I saw a different dentist today. He collected me from reception, used my name (a good thing) and was friendly and nice. He'd clearly read my notes, and apologised in advance that it was likely to hurt a little. He showed me the implements he'd use, and explained what he was going to do, then kitted me up in glasses and bib. So far so good.

Then I miraculously transformed from being a person into being a non-sentient mouth on a chair. Neither dentist nor nurse said anything to me, although they occasionally exchanged words with each other that I couldn't hear. And it did hurt. Not unbearably, but enough that I made several noises of pain. Was I rewarded with a brief respite? No. It occured to me that I'd previously heard dentists say to patients "If it hurts too much, or you just want to stop for a moment, raise your hand and I'll stop immediately" and I wondered if it'd work if I were to try it. I kept noticing how much I'd tensed my muscles, and try to consciously relax them, only to be distracted by another jab of pain.

Eventually, it was over, and the evil empathyless monster turned back into a nice dentist. He explained that he was just going to polish my teeth, and afterwards said that I only needed to come back in a year. I said thank you, went out to reception to pay over another tiny sum of money, and came home.

Thinking back in order to write this, and reading it over, it doesn't seem so bad. It doesn't really explain why I was upset when I got home, and why I've just abandoned my half-written hen night entry because I couldn't summon up the necessary enthusiasm*. It wasn't bad. He warned me that it would hurt, and the pain wasn't terrible. My gums still ache a bit, but, again, it's not so bad. Nevertheless, I'm sitting here typing, feeling small and weak and vulnerable, and wondering if it wouldn't be better simply to delete this entry without posting it, so it won't be here in a year when I book another appointment, and remember that I found the last one distressing, and that I wrote about it on LJ...

...As you see, I'm posting it anyway. Maybe it's a sort of exorcism. Or maybe I'm just lazy enough that I object to throwing something away once I've done it. And there are happier things to write about, too, which might flow more easily if I don't have the unfinished story of the dentist taunting me.

*Enthusiasm required because I really did have a wonderful time, and if I write it up I want to do it justice.

Comments

[leathellin.livejournal.com]

Ooh, sounds odd in a not good way.
I hope you get over it soon.

[arralethe.livejournal.com]

Hmmm...A suggestion if you'll accept it? It hurts less if you visit every six months (which is the government's NHS guideline). I've always found there's a little pain involved at the dentist, but given it's these days so much less than when I had 10 years of heavy orthodontic work I kind of go into a trance.

*hugs* anyway - I was at the dentist on Monday :)

[mr-snips.livejournal.com]

I think the fact that it's your mouth, which is a fairly sensitive area, combined with the helplessness and the way you're lying flat on your back, upsets a lot of people. If it was hands, it would probably be better, but if it was eyes, I suspect it would be worse:-)

My problem is the breathing

[a-llusive.livejournal.com]

I find it hard to get enough air in (my nose is 'officially' too small* - according to my GP, anyway), so I feel a bit threatened by the struggling for breath.

Knowing your asthma history, I'm surprised it didn't panic you more - but perhaps you didn't find this a problem.

*on the inside.