I had a pretty humbling experience this morning that not only got my day off to a horrible start, but I had to wake up earlier than normal and get less sleep for it. Not the most enjoyable morning I’ve ever had, to say the least.
As horrible as it is to admit, I haven’t been to a dentist in about two years. Things at work got hectic and I wasn’t able to get away for my scheduled appointment on day. Up to this point I had gone religiously every six months for years and would make my appointment for my next checkup as I was leaving my current one, six months in advance. So, I had to cancel one due to something happening at work and then just kind of forgot to reschedule it.
Then I ended up switching from the PPO Dental Coverage at work to the HMO to save some cash, and found out my dentist wasn’t covered under the HMO plan. So I was stuck with the hassle of trying to find a new dentist.
I never know where to start with that sort of thing. I wish there was some sort of audition process for doctors. Like I would sit behind a table while they nervously waited in a line out in the hall. Then when it was their turn they would come into the room and show me their skills while I browse their headshot and resume. Then at the end of the day, I pick the most qualified candidate.
Or the cutest one.
Instead I was stuck just asking around the office for a dentist someone recommended who was on our dental plan and then picking the one who had the closest office or didn’t sound like a total drip based on his or her name.
A highly scientific way of finding a medical care professional, to say the least.
Well, a couple days ago, my gums started to bleed a little bit while brushing my teeth and unless something has changed in oral hygiene, that’s not a good thing. So, I got my ass in gear and picked a dentist and made an appointment.
This morning, at a far too early hour for anyone to be awake, I trudged my way to Central Park South to my first appointment with this new dentist. I filled out all of the obligatory paperwork and was then called into the room to have my teeth cleaned by the hygienist. Before we started she asked if I was experiencing any problems and I told her about my gums and how they were starting to bleed a little when I brushed my teeth.
She asked me what my flossing habits were like, and I immediately pretended I didn’t speak English and didn’t understand the question. “If I don’t answer and pretend I didn’t hear her, maybe she’ll forget she asked the question” actually crossed my mind. But I was busted. I had to admit that I have horrible flossing habits in that I don’t think I had touched floss in a fortnight until today.
She gave me a stern talking to and I felt like a grade schooler being chastised for passing notes. But I was soon to find out that that was the least of my problems.
She looked at my gums and informed that due to my lack of flossing I had some plaque buildup that was causing my gums to be enflamed and a couple spots were starting to show signs of getting infected. She told me how plaque starts forming within an hour of you getting rid of it, which means that I have something else to obsess over and be paranoid about.
She went to work on getting rid of the plaque buildup which is nothing I haven’t had done at all of my other dental checkups in the past, but this one was different. Since my entire gum line was enflamed it was one of the most painful experiences I’ve gone through in recent history. Every time her little pointy, metal pick-thing would touch my gums, it felt like she was slicing them open, peeling them back, and pouring salt all over them. And all I could do was lay there and take it, because it had to be done.
Once she FINALLY finished, I noticed that my cheeks were wet with tears (?) that had come from somewhere. I never actually cried, but the pain was just so excruciating that my eyes leaked from all the wincing.
And then she said I have to go back and see the Periodontist so they can do it all over again and make sure all the plaque has been taken care of. Oh hell no.
To make me feel better she told me she was going to polish my teeth next and handed me a menu of a few different flavors of polish to choose from. I’m not sure how choosing between Bubblegum, Wild Cherry, Mint, Chocolate, and Wintergreen is supposed to make me feel better about her having just raped my gums, and it actually ended up being a tough decision to make, but in the end, Wild Cherry won out, and it did make me feel a little better.
A very humbling and humiliating experience. It was a huge wake up call that I have to be more diligent with this sort of thing because it only takes a little lapse in maintenance for things to get out of hand. And honestly, I’m twenty-seven years old, I should be mature enough to take better care of my chompers.
After work, I stopped by the drugstore and upgraded my toothbrush to one of those snazzy Sonicare brushes. And based on the information I’ve read on them (because this is pretty much all I obsessed about all day), these brushes are just one step below a magic wand. In fact, I think you can even play Quidditch with it. So hopefully, this will also aide me in keeping things cleaner and healthier than ever before.
I also stocked up on those fun little flossy things that come on their own stick. I always thought they looked like little floss toys, and I’m more apt to play with a toy than fumble with three feet of string, so hopefully these will make it easier for me to actually start flossing more regularly as well.
And from this day on, I am going to be much more diligent about getting back to the dentist every six months. How could I not?! I mean, I’m really anxious to try those other flavors of polish.
That’s enough incentive for me.