Monkey On My Back

[liralen]

Finally got past a bit of a barrier about my dental stuff. I'd had a bad experience with a dentist in the spring, and finally got around to finding a new one, and doing all the things that I needed to do to get all my records to a new place that someone I really do trust a great deal recommended. I'd been thinking, nearly all summer about the fact

Comments

[tagryn]

Yay! to the dentist stuff. I sometimes feel that between my brother and me, I got the better hair while he got the better teeth (I leave to others to decide which of us came out ahead), so I'm well familiar with the chair. Very grateful for modern dental numbing...and, may all our cavities be on the upper teeth.

[liralen]

*laughs* I'd prefer not to have any more cavities... but so it is...

And the dentist has said that I don't need the filling, but do need the crown replacement and really need a better cleaning than the one the dentist I didn't like could have given me. And that is pretty spendy. *sigh* Still... it'll help. So I've scheduled the cleaning and am thinking of when to do the crown.

Yes. I am grateful for numbing abilities...

[tagryn]

Also, I could totally relate to the experience of stressing about having to call about the records transfer. My previous dentist made me VERY stressed out; he had a very peculiar personal manner which made me uncomfortable in a lot of ways. I finally decided, hey, I'm *already* tense because you guys are going to be messing with some organs which have rather sensitive nerve endings in them, I don't need to be worrying too about trying to get along with the dentist (when I'm the one paying for it

[liralen]

Exactly that with the transfer, and that's exactly the problem I had with the first dentist I tried after my dentist had quit the office I was going to... it's that rejection anticipation.

Neat that you are comfortable now! The new dentist I got to see Wednesday does inspire a lot more confidence in me, so I'm going to see how it turns out.

[tagryn]

Also, one practical idea that worked for me: after hearing really good things about it in a reddit thread, I switched to a Philips Sonicare electric toothbrush. First cleaning I got after switching, the comment from the hygienist was "Looks good, everything looks really clean" when previously it had normally been about how much plaque had built up and how I needed more frequent cleanings. That was, different...and I do notice my teeth feel significantly cleaner since switching. Donna also says its had a noticeable teeth-whitening effect, as well. One bonus is it has a built-time timer feature which reminds the user how long to brush each part, which has resulted in brushing for the recommended time (i.e. longer) instead of guesstimating it.

Can't recall if I'd mentioned this before, but the results have been very amendable.

[liralen]

*grins* We're on our third Sonicare handle... we keep wearing them out...

And, yes, I agree, the difference was remarkable.