Monday, December 8, 2008

Iron will

The DARKNESS,

the scary noises.


The awful smells,


the ANXIETY!!


Can you guess?



Let me tell you.



I visited Dr. Pain this morning.



This is the name my dad gives to the dentist. ANY dentist.

I have inherited his fondness for this particular branch of medicine.



See? There I am, all gussied up in my fabulous boots, ready for a day at the spa.

They say that looking good is half the battle, right? So with no where else to go, I fancied myself up and showed up three minutes early, talking myself right into believing this would be as good as a day at the spa.

Why did I trick myself into thinking this thought?
THIS was my only friend.

There is not much dignity in 'rinsing and spitting,' but when you have to do it in front of two other people with your mouth all numb, the dignity of this act rivals giving birth.

Seriously, I came home with a sore back, headache and the need for a nap.
I try not to do it--get myself worked up about being in 'the chair,' that is... but it's HARD. I brought a good book, but what was I thinking? Did I think there would be time to relax and enjoy holding a book in front of my face?
Silly me.
The only things in front of my face were too scary to look at.
So I kept my eyes SHUT.
The entire time.
I honestly thought I was becoming the next 'big dig' project.
Not fun.
AND, boys and girls, I will also tell you this: The whole time I was suffering, I was repeating the following mantra in my head:
"I will NEVER eat another grain of sugar. EVER!! I will brush and floss after every meal, snack and thought of a meal or a snack."
I walked out of there sure that I was going to spend the next week sipping tepid broth and avoiding anything chewy, sticky, crunchy, hot or cold. Or sweet.
And maybe even the next month.
When I got to my good friend's house to pick up Mr. M, he was eating lunch. She offered me some, but the fact that 9/10ths of my mouth was numb and malfunctioning, sort of curbed the craving.
HOWEVER. By the time I walked in the door to home, stoked the fire and fired up the computer, the need for something sugarish was BAD.
So I raided the secret stash.
Aahhhh.....
there is something to be said for shoving down carbs and chocolate when you're living through post traumatic anxiety dental syndrome.
Maybe I should go find some floss.
So much for resolve.

11 comments:

Smilin' sunshine said...

I have very similar feelings too. We were all supposed to go to the dentist this summer, but with the move and all....

Needless to say, I have a tooth that has been bugging me since this summer and really need a cleaning, but just can't get up the nerve to find a new dentist!

Anonymous said...

Remember the Alamo...
My goal is to die with all my teeth. We have to be so disciplined. I'm with you not much here.
love
mom

ChefTom said...

Jenny, I am totally with you, what kind of sadist becomes a dentist anyway? Even a good day with a dentist equals a bad day anywhere else.

shirlgirl said...

You must have had a bad experience when you were a young child. My Dad took us to a great dentist who was wonderful with children. I've never been afraid. Two and a half years ago when I had my bad fall and broke my front teeth was the most traumatic experience I ever had. I had always taken very good care of my teeth and I was devastated. Fortunately, I have a wonderful dentist. He was away at the time, and I went to an oral surgeon in Dorcheser who removed three of my teeth and part of another one. My own dentist took an impression a few days later and had a partial plate made for me which I had for almost two years while going through bone grafting with an allograft by an implant surgeon, a root canal and tooth lengthening procedure for the tooth that was partially broken, and then the dental implants and finally my permanent implant bridge. I feel very fortunate to have had these two wonderful dentists with their expertise and experience on my side. I can now smile and no one would know that I have dental implants. I will be forever grateful to these men. So if you get into the hands of a great dentist, you should not even fear him/her.

Michael Stokes said...

It is truely sad that all Dentist are going to Outter Darkness... along with the tie guy

Becky said...

i'd rather give birth 5 times in a row then go to the dentist.

Marilyn said...

I KNEW the no sugar goal wouldn't last, but you were extremely quick to succomb to temptation. (I know, have had experience with this!)I am sure the dentist wondered who this crazy lady was taking pictures of her dental experience. For some reason the part I hate the most about the dentist are the x-rays. I don't mind the shots, drilling, or anything else.

Joy said...

What is it with all of you? I love the dentist. In fact I have a cleaning this morning which I have to cancel because my babysitter cancelled. Oh the joy of freshly professionally cleaned teeth, I love it. Sorry, but I do :)

Cathy said...

ditto on the love of the dentist. I waited for 45 minutes last time for dental work. I'm not planning on returning to that dentist.
My kids do have a fabulous dentist though. I had horrible childhood experiences with the dentist so I've tried to find an excellent pediatric dentist so my children won't be scarred like me.

LL said...

that Joy lady sister in law of yours is a special soul...loving the dentist?!? HOW??? I hate it. Constant tooth ache over here, not willing to share my troubles with the dentist...but I make my kids go every six months, no fail ;)
CUTE BOOTS!!!

Janae said...

great post:)