The Dentist

I had my first of several dental appointments to fill cavities today. And it was not successful. I am so disappointed and embarrassed. When I was little, I prided myself on not having any cavities. I got a smug satisfaction out of it, especially if my brother or sister happened to get one. And now it's all coming back to bite me.

I really enjoy my new dentist, Dr. Bliss. I'm sure her name has something to do with it. And the fact that we're the same age and she talks too much. She practically stole Robbie from me the first time I met her, and she had a balloon waiting for me to take home to him tonight. So, what I am going to say is no reflection on her. She's great.

My teeth are not. I was supposed to have four cavities filled tonight. I left with two-and-a-half finished. Two of them were easy. Then we got to the doozy. I could feel the drill, so Dr. Bliss gave me two more shots of Novocain. Which didn't work. She pulled out the mirror to show me the status of my poor molar. I looked in the mirror to see that she had drilled away a quarter of my tooth, and there was still plenty of gray tooth left to be drilled out. It's a really humbling moment to realize that you haven't taken care of your teeth the way you should.

Then came the moment of truth. Dr. Bliss told me she wasn't comfortable drilling any further with the nerve that bad. She put in a medicated filling (I'd never heard of such a thing!). This is supposed to stop the cavity from progressing further and allow the nerve to heal. Then, ideally, when she goes back in a few months to put in the real filling, the nerve will be healed enough to allow this to happen.

What happened to that fourth cavity? It was right next to the tooth that was mostly drilled out, and she was concerned that the area wouldn't be fully numbed. So now that waits a few more months, too.

And now I wait another four weeks to have the three cavities on the other side of my mouth taken care of, one of which is just as bad as the one she couldn't finish today. I am so not looking forward to any of this. At all. But, she seems confident that I'll be able to avoid crowns and root canals for now. And to think, a little flossing probably would have prevented most of this drama. Guess I'll go do that now...