My first visit to dentist came in when I was eight year old. My fellas took me for a routine checkup that ended up revealing four cavities. I was disappointed & scared to an extent that I had nightmares for the next few weeks. Fortunately, my fellas had faith over my god sent teeth & serious doubts over that local dentist. They spared me the dental procedure and I was relieved.
Two decades later, my teeth are still intact. (at least those four ).
That first dental visit certainly didn’t make a good impression! 🙄
Over the next few years, my biggest worry of visiting a dentist became the fear of uncovering new problems. This one time, I visited a dentist coz of pain in a wisdom tooth. I was worried about one wisdom tooth when I arrived at his office but by the time I left, I was worried about all four. Apparently, they were all doomed to fail. He suggested having them all removed. 😬
Overwhelmed with his opinion, I couldn’t even deal with the problem at hand. I ended up postponing the procedure for a decade. Since then I’ve learned – worst are the dentists that amplify your problems.
Postponing is not a solution. Last year, one of my wisdom tooth finally gave up. I couldn’t chew without pain, so I chewed from the other side. (For almost a month). The timing couldn’t have been more tragic. Fear of pandemic was lurking around. Most dental clinics were closed. As the pain worsened, my fellas dragged me to see a dentist next door. (Fortunately open!)
So, Here I was, sitting in his clinic, leaned back on an operating chair, thinking about my past dental experiences. Dodging the ball away, was hardly a possibility this time. 😟
And then, he removed my first wisdom tooth
Sensing my fear, my dentist assured me of a painless procedure. That of course involved anesthesia and pain medications. It took him thirty minutes. I felt a prick in my mouth from the anesthesia shot. After that I felt NOTHING.
Not even when he used his full body force against my jaw to remove my wisdom tooth. Not even when he cut my jawbone to loosen the grip of tooth.
It was a painless procedure (as he claimed).
Until next day..
When I woke up, my face was like a pumpkin. My cheek was swollen to thrice its size. I was hooked onto painkillers, without which, the pain would have been unbearable. I spent the whole day inside my house, afraid to go outside with my swollen face. That lasted for a week. I didn’t go outdoors and ate baby soft food.
I learned that then, most dentists are good salesmen. (And nothing ever is painless)
It has been a while now since my last visit to dentist. The prophecy of my other three wisdom teeth still awaits. While the clock is ticking and I’m writing this piece, I wonder if I can ever stop dreading the dentists.
If only, they were tooth fairy!
#Dreadingthedentist #Toothfairy #Dentists
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