My mouff ith kinna numb

[fenchurch]

Actually, make that the entire lower right part of my face. This is what happens when you finally go to a dentist for the first time in, um, awhile (*cough*tenyears*cough*).

Last week taradaktyl started going to Curves with me again... she was the one who got me started in the first place, years ago, and it's wonderful being able to chat about things like "Heroes" and "Dresden Files" while we're working out (back when we first started, we chatted BtVS and AtS and, even more specifically, Spike). When we went in on Thursday we bumped into someone Taradaktyl knew... the dental hygienist from her dentist's office. We got to chatting, I got her business card and rather than doing what I'd done for the previous decade, I went straight home and called to make an appointment.

See, that's the thing. I don't have a fear of dentists or anything, and we've had really good dental insurance this whole time... it's just not something I ever thought about much, because my teeth weren't giving me any problems. So, I'd think about the fact that I didn't even have a dentist, and decide I'd definitely go looking for one later. Which turned into never.

I'll say right up front, I love my new dentist. His office is right up the street (right next to Evergreen Hospital), to the point that I end up arriving a good fifteen minutes early, every time I go (I'm never sure about traffic... but today it literally took me four minutes, door to door, to get there... because I hit all the lights just right.

I called the office on thursday, just after lunchtime, and they had me in for my first appointment on Friday afternoon. That was THE most thorough dental exam I've ever had... and I think I had more x-rays done in that one visit than I had in all the dentist visits in my life before then. They also checked tissues, lymph nodes and palates and various other bits, to make sure everything was healthy and cancer free as part of the standard check up.

The dentist actually took the time to chat with me for a bit, to get to know a bit about me and let me get to know him... and he's a big ol' geek. I mean a seriously deep geek. His undergraduate degree? Electrical Engineering. He's his own IT guy and builds his own systems and maintains his own network and has invested in a number of high-tech gizmos to make his dental practice run more efficiently and more comfortably for his patients. I was VERY impressed.

And then they got me in for my teeth cleaning... on Monday. Which went really well, too... with the dental hygienist I'd met at Curves the previous week. Everyone there is also quite good at keeping up the one sided chatter, while making you feel like you're actually part of a conversation. No easy task!

I did get asked the standard question I *always* get asked when I find a new dentist... they look at the info I've filled out and ask, in a very puzzled voice "Didn't you have braces??" The hygienist even went on to comment "This is exactly what teeth look like after they've had braces!" Yeah, I have abnormally straight teeth. She also commented that I seem to be fairly resistant to tooth decay and gum disease... considering how long it had been since I'd last seen a dentist, I ended up with two very small cavities that needed filling and my gums are relatively healthy (I've got a few things to work on, but it's mostly just changing how I hold my toothbrush).

And then there was today, when I got the teeth worked on. The entire appointment took 45 minutes, and I was home again with a very numb mouth. I was joking with them, too, that they must have been worried that I'd get away... considering how fast they got me through the process (first call on Thursday, first appointment on Friday, teeth cleaning on Monday and drilling on Tuesday). All and all, this has been a really good experience. And now I've got a dentist who will remind me when it's time for checkups, so I won't have depend solely on my own gumption to get in there again!

Comments

[textualdeviance.livejournal.com]

I may have to ask for a referral. M and I were seeing a lovely husband-wife pair in Shoreline for many years, but then they up and moved to the South Pacific to do charity work. Their staff is still at the practice, but I don't know anything about the new pair running it, so I've been sort of nosing around, looking for other options. I need frequent cleanings (stoopid gums) so I need people I'm comfortable with and am therefore picky.

[fenchurche.livejournal.com]

I'll dig up their business card to pass on to M. rackham has an appointment there on Feb 1st -- it's been even longer since he last darkened the door of a dentist (probably around 12 years), so this could be interesting. I was really quite happy with this particular dentist and his people... I liked them all individually and they also seemed to work together incredibly well.

then they up and moved to the South Pacific to do charity work.

This is, essentially, what happened to my last dentist. I'd just found him and after one or two visits he announced that he and his family were moving to Africa to do charity dental work. I was really happy for them, but obviously, I didn't rush right out to find another dentist.

[mlyn.livejournal.com]

Aw, man! Just when there's fannish chatter going on at Curves, I move away!

[pmgoose.livejournal.com]

Nice! I'm glad to hear you found a good dentist and that you escaped with very few cavities! :)

[mistraltoes.livejournal.com]

A good dentist is a thing of joy. Yay! :)

[kazzy-cee.livejournal.com]

I hate that numb feeling - I always end up biting a chunk out of my cheek and only finding out about it later LOL!!

Sounds an ideal arrangement and so close by too.

3-2-1 Contact

[kehf.livejournal.com]

Off topic, but I don't have contact info for you outside of LJ. If you would still like the Star Wars stuff that I have, it would be helpful if you could pick it up this week (or by the end of the weekend).

My email primovant @ yahoo. com

[rosiewook.livejournal.com]

It's rarely about the dentist for me. I focus entirely on the hygienist because, if I'm lucky, I won't need the dentist.

I'm quite aggravated because I'm about to leave the annoying practice I've been going to since I moved here all because of their billing department. But I really love the hygienist.

Congrats on only two minor cavities. I'd never be that lucky. (I have to go three times per year to be cleaned.)

[rahirah]

I need to go to a dentist. I don't exactly fear them...but I don't love 'em, either, and I definitely fear discovering that I need seventy-billion fillings. :P

[jerusha]

It's been a while since I've been to the dentist because I haven't had insurance until recently. And now I fear finding out I have cavities, and so have been putting it off. I need to get in before it turns into ten years.

[wildrider.livejournal.com]

I try to get over to get a cleaning when I'm supposed to (every six months), since I have really bad tartar problems, but I put it off and now it's been three years, which means I have to go back to have some fillings fixed. Fortunately, it's only fixes needed, not new fillings... I think. (I'll know on Tuesday.)