I am a complete chicken when it comes to the dentist. Not sure when my phobia actually began, perhaps it was way back in Kindergarten when I threw up on my dentist. Then there were those years of braces and going to an orthodontist who felt no pain. Nothing like going in and having wires pulled tighter every couple of weeks to shift your teeth. Talk about soreness!
I also have flashbacks of visiting a dentist while in high school that didn’t use enough pain medication while he was working on a few cavities. I was white knuckling with tears streaming down my face and finally his assistant recognized that I was not doing well and shot me with additional drugs.
Let’s see, then there was the time my husband had his wisdom teeth cut out and his dentist called me back to review the process for changing the gauze in his mouth. As the dentist spoke to me, the walls started closing in and I passed out. No kidding, I fell completely off my stool and landed on the floor! I was out cold. My poor husband, he had to go through surgery wondering how I was doing. It was horrible for me too, instead of sitting in the waiting room trying to relax with a magazine, I was being monitored in a room next to the one he was in. I had to listen to those awful drills and stuff slicing him open (not really a good thing when you’re trying to come back to your senses).
Anyway, you can probably see why I hate scheduling dental appointments! Even though I have found a terrific dentist, I still have flashbacks of these terrible times. I need a cleaning and routine check-up, I haven’t been in at least 3 years! But, to my defense…I have been flossing daily and I use a Sonicare toothbrush at least 3 times per day! I take good care of my teeth (thanks to a recent scare my husband had with the dentist), so hopefully when I go next week I will receive a good report.