Just after Christmas Happy and I visited our new dentist. I found out I had two cavities. Bummer. But, I finally made an appointment to go in yesterday at 4:30. Not only did they drill and fill my two cavities, they also sealed 5 of my other molars and they feel weird. Now all that's left is to get one crown on a molar that has a silver filling. I'm sure that will be fun.
Once the dentist came in my little room I told him my "issues" with needles (thinking of the Novacaine) and he told me that for 99% of kids getting fillings, they don't use Novacaine because the drilling really isn't so bad. He gave me the option of using it or not. I opted not to use it. All in all, it really wasn't so bad (even though he did drill four separate times--he'd drill, rinse, then say "Just a little bit more...") and there was only one point where my eye twitched at the pain. For me, it's well worth it to not have the shots.
The last cavity I had filled was a long time ago, but I clearly remember at least 6 shots of Novacaine and still being able to feel the drill just as much as I did yesterday. Then I had a numb mouth for several hours. Yesterday I didn't! As I was leaving they asked if I wanted to have my teeth cleaned right then because one of their appointments didn't show up. Apparently there's new technology to clean teeth (shows how long it's been since I had my teeth professionally cleaned) which uses baking soda and a high powered sprayer. It tasted kind of gross, but it made my teeth whiter :-D Aside from the baking soda dusting on my face afterwards, I liked it much more than the nasty stuff I used to have.
So, even though I asked Happy to meet me at the dentist and drive me home, I could have driven myself home after all! In light of my exciting evening at the dentist (all of it took less than an hour), I thought I'd ask, does anyone else have any memorable dentist experiences to share?
1 comment:
There was the time when I was in New York went up to see the student dentists at columbia presbyterian because one of my wisdom teeth was aching. They asked me if a had about 15 minutes, tossed me into a chair, novacained my cheek and pulled it out right there. whole thing took less than 30 minutes and i went home on the subway.
On a more recent note my dentist introduced me to "rubber tips" http://www.delmarvadentalservices.com/Images/rubber%20tip_3.jpg
it's all the benefits of flossing without risk of cutting up your gums. I keep one at the computer and one in the car. goodbye gingivitis.
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