September 20th, 2007
Holla!
It’s Jennifer from Playgroups Are No Place For Children. Sam invited me over to play, so here I am, sharing a story about my fear of the dentist and a story I promised my husband I wouldn’t share. Good wife, I am.
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The other day, Tate and I both had dentist appointments. He had only 1 cavity. Me? I had 2.
Tate really loves to win. He especially loves to receive rewards *ahem* for his winnings.
He informed me that protein deficiencies are the leading cause of cavities in women of child-bearing age.
Nice try.
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Did you read the above line about me having TWO CAVITIES?!?! I’ve only had one other cavity in my entire life and now I have TWO. I blame my two pregnancies (or my love of Chocolate Malt Ovaltine) for this unfortunate turn of dental events.
I’m not what you call a “fan” of going to the dentist. I barely made it through just having my teeth cleaned. I hate when they poke that sharp tool into your teeth to check for cavities. One false move and you could end up with a nasty gash. Sitting there with my mouth open and not being in control of how much water the hygienist is spraying also freaks me out. Drowning, people! I’m afraid of drowning at the hands of this crazy lady squirting water in my mouth! And then that little suck-up-the-water thingy. Ewwww. I hate that.
Also, I’m perplexed as to why the hygienist makes conversation with you when you’re obviously not in a position to respond. I worry about nodding my head in response because of DROWNING or SUCKING accidents.
Don’t even get me started on the noises you hear while sitting in the dentist’s chair. Gaaaaarosss. Squirting water, suction noise, and of course, the worst noise…the buzzing of the tooth polisher. Even typing “the buzzing of the tooth polisher” makes me cringe.
So yeah, I’m not handling this I have 2 cavities thing very well. It is very possible that the dentist and the hygienist will have to tackle me to get me into the chair to have these cavities filled. Hopefully they’ll give me lots and lots of laughing gas. Or beer. Beer is good, but not if it’s in the spraying thing. I don’t want to drown in beer. That would be bad.
Am I the only one this freaked out by the dentist?! Send tips on how to get through the nightmare known as having a cavity filled!!
Welcome Jennifer!
When you find out, let me know. I haven’t been to the dentist in *gasp* 6 years due to extreme fear of the dentist. And the sad part….I need to go soon as I know I have a whole bunch of cavities. It’s actually starting to hurt to eat sweets (and I LOVE sweets). How do I get over my fear and actually make an appt? I’m with you on the whole fear thing.
September 20th, 2007 at 8:52 am
Girlfriend, come on. You gave birth and survived bleeding nipples. And you couldn’t even numb yourself up during the bleeding nipple saga. If you can bear that, you can bear a shot or two so you don’t feel anything. Just tell yourself that and see if it helps you relax any?
And breath deeply with the laughing gas. Very deeply.
September 20th, 2007 at 10:03 am
Oh Gawd. I’m off to the dentist this morning and really despise going. I have a tooth at the back of my mouth that has been filled 4 times and it looks as though the filling isn’t holding up very well.
I suggest taking your iPod or music player and listening to something that takes you to a happy place.
The numbing shots suck, there isn’t any way around them. Just crank up the music and squinch your eyes shut.
Good luck and wish me the same!
September 20th, 2007 at 11:05 am
I was just going to suggest the ipod, too.
When I get my teeth cleaned, they give me a personal stereo, and there’s a pad on the chair that gives me a lovely massage. You need to come to my dentist
September 20th, 2007 at 11:49 am
I also have a great fear of the dentist and I have to say that the worst part is the smell. You know that smell of something burning? Yeah, I can’t handle it. My suggestion is to have a beer (or 5) before going (just have Tate drive you) and then ask for the gas as soon as you walk in the door.
September 20th, 2007 at 11:55 am
I used to shiver in the dentist office. Panic attacks galore.
Since I found a gentle dentist (husband and wife team) I am no longer afraid to death and even had a root canal where I nearly fel asleep during. haha.
My tip is to wear an MP3 Player on low to drown out the noise. Also tell your dentist in advance that if you feel 1 thing - you will signal him and he will freeze you again. You should not feel anything. I was frozen 4 times for my root canal. I didn’t want to feel a thing.
Giving birth is so much worse!
September 20th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
When I have a dentist appt I always make sure I’ve got Coldplay on my MP3 player. It’s the only music obnoxious enough to drown out the drone of my dentist singing to my teeth and the vapid twit with the sucky thing attacking my face.
If you don’t have Coldplay? I highly recommend Goo Goo Dolls. They suck enough.
September 20th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
Your husband doesn’t want us to know that you hate the dentist?
I hate that sucky thing the most. Oh the dry mouth!
September 20th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
I totally agree with the hygenist thing. HELLO!!! I CAN”T TALK RIGHT NOW.
Something else that will give you cavities..GUM. Yep. Even the sugar free kind. I didn’t have any cavities until I was 17…I went for my usualy 6 month cleaning and lo and behold I had 2 cavities. She asked me if I chewed a lot of gum…I said Yea (I was on a gum kick) and she reprimanded me and told me never to touch another piece. She told me she wouldn’t even let her kids have any, sugar free or not. I now only chew gum maybe once a year. I won’t give it to my son. My DH found out the hard way as he LURVES gumballs…so I bought him a 5ft tube of them one year for Christmas…they were gone in a 2 months. Now he has had 3 or 4 cavities and issues with a crown since. HAHA. I told him not to chew so much gum as he was popping 2 or 3 gumballs a day.
He doesn’t believe me though…he blames the dentist for his dental issues.
ROFL
September 20th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
Protein deficiency? That sounds like something my husband would say. Classic.
I also HATE the dentist. I actually just got home from an appointment (I’m not even kidding). Luckily, no cavities.
The worst experience I ever had was getting out 2 of my wisdom teeth. It wasn’t only the noise, but the smell of my burning tooth was almost enough to make me pass out. Good luck!
September 20th, 2007 at 4:04 pm
first of all…Tate is hilarious! does he really think that will work?
secondly…i hate the dentist…i haven’t been there in a long time…too long. but i’m a big baby.
i wish i had great advice for you, but i don’t. at least the shot is the worst part…once that’s done, it’s all numb!
September 20th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
I went for a regular scraping last week and I had this new hygienist who must have gotten up close n’ personal with an 8-ball before my appointment. Girl was HYPER. Which is cool, I mean, I like to talk too, but like…I can’t talk to you while you are picking at my teeth with steel instruments. And she was like, asking me questions that I had to answer by grunting. Like a pig.
September 21st, 2007 at 1:16 pm
Ick - I HATE the dentist. Who would actually want to be a dentist?? I was there recently only to find out I have a boat load of cavities, so all I can do is feel your agony. I have no advice…except to find a dentist who has movies while you get your teeth drilled. That’d be good.
September 23rd, 2007 at 11:23 pm
I hate the dentist, I’m looking for one right now, not too hard, but I’m looking. I have a filling that is coming out and it is starting to bother me. I hate when they find a cavity and just keep poking at it with that sharp thingy, do they not know that it hurts!!!And I have never figured out how they understand you when you try to answer them. My old dentist would ask questions and when you answered he seemed to know what you were saying, HOW!!!
September 24th, 2007 at 10:50 am
Ugh… I hate the Dentist too. Hate them, and their bills too. Dental insurance or not. I had 8 cavities when I was 3, and have had at least 2, every time I go back… had to have a root canal about 6 months ago… Hell. Pure, hell. Anyways, I feel your sympathy. It sucks to have a family that has bad teeth… Grandma had false teeth when she was 23. Eek.
October 1st, 2007 at 12:55 am