Okay so I went in for my twice annual checkup this morning. My feelings about the Dentist have changed from dread, to avoidance, to I-should-have-known-better, to finally resigned acceptance that it's something I have to do and hope for the best while I cross my fingers.
Homecare, as the hygienist put it, was not a message I received as a kid. The basic brushing and flossing the teeth routine. I knew I was supposed to brush my teeth but putting the knowledge into action didn't seem important to me. Every Dentist visit as a kid was not happy memory, especially since I had to hold those mouth guards filled with goop in my mouth for three minutes. Invariably the taste of the goop, didn't matter which flavor, was all nasty. Bubble gum and grape should be banned from dentistry all together. Ugh. Of course you try not to swallow any of it down but have you tried to tell your mouth not to salivate when it was holding something that seemed like food to it? It's not possible.
I'm getting sidetracked. Basically, I got by with good grades this morning. I wouldn't stop eating chocolate even if I did have another filling to be filled. But I must say, I'm grateful it's been over a year since I've had another filling join me. Homecare is slowly, painfully, getting better. But I also think that I may not have many teeth left that don't have a filling in them.
Homecare, as the hygienist put it, was not a message I received as a kid. The basic brushing and flossing the teeth routine. I knew I was supposed to brush my teeth but putting the knowledge into action didn't seem important to me. Every Dentist visit as a kid was not happy memory, especially since I had to hold those mouth guards filled with goop in my mouth for three minutes. Invariably the taste of the goop, didn't matter which flavor, was all nasty. Bubble gum and grape should be banned from dentistry all together. Ugh. Of course you try not to swallow any of it down but have you tried to tell your mouth not to salivate when it was holding something that seemed like food to it? It's not possible.
I'm getting sidetracked. Basically, I got by with good grades this morning. I wouldn't stop eating chocolate even if I did have another filling to be filled. But I must say, I'm grateful it's been over a year since I've had another filling join me. Homecare is slowly, painfully, getting better. But I also think that I may not have many teeth left that don't have a filling in them.
I'm not joking. I avoided the dentist for four years once. The first office visit I made, boy, my teeth told me how stupid I had been with 14 cavities. Yes, that's right. Fourteen. On top of my past history of an occasional cavity here and there.
I have been converted to the resigned acceptance that if I didn't have a dentist I may not have any teeth left in my mouth when I'm sixty. No thanks. I want teeth to chew with. We don't think about it much but if we can't chew our diet becomes very limited to soft things only. Like Jello, applesauce, mashed anything with no skins, or plain ice cream because you might choke on a chuck of fruit or chocolate if it’s flavored. How sad that would be?
So don't avoid the Dentist friends. We may not like the service but at least we can guarantee that we’ll still be able to chew when we're older than sixty. That counts for a lot.
I don't like baby food & yogurt enough to stop seeing my dentist altogether. ~Mary
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