No this isn’t a review of the 1996 Corbin Bernsen movie, The Dentist. Instead, it’s a muse on my least favorite place to go. My guess is that many of you will probably share my sentiment.
You arrive in a tiny waiting area.
There are never any really good magazines. Usually they have a Gideon Bible or two and some really bad ads that look like kids magazines. Usually, you wait mostly trying to keep your mind off periodontal disease, tooth fillings, and crowns. I waited an hour.
You get put in a chair.
They are all very nice to you but you don’t get the party started for a very long time. This is pretty much standard op. In the chair you get to imagine the silver trays and windows (if you are lucky) are your friends. Enjoy them because they are all you have for what seems like a lifetime in dental hygienist college.
They say open wide and you salivate like hell as a hard plastic tube sucks it out.
This is my least favorite part.
Finally, they numb you
I guess in a way it doesn’t matter what happens to you at this point. I mean, you’re numb. At the same time you start to feel like the elephant man every time they pull out their hands and you realize you wouldn’t even know if you were biting your tongue or not.
You leave after visiting “the window.”
When you leave they thank you, you pay some unholy amount because your insurance doesn’t cover the stuff you really need done.
You go home numb
Does anyone know for sure how long this stuff lasts? I wanna go out to eat with the family but I can’t even eat cup-of-noodles without biting my tongue. I hate this feeling but I do it willingly because after 13 years of not going to the dentist, I am luck to only need one crown, 4 tooth cavity fillings, and a deep clean to help freeze the early stage of periodontal disease. What a fun blog topic. Care to comment on your exciting impressions of the dentist?
One Comment
Great writing! The experience at the dentist is never a fun time. Though growing up my dentist had a huge free arcade that was pretty awesome. I would love to know who is picking out the magazine selection though.