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Warning - Some posts may cause choking, spitting of beverage and /or a severe giggle fit. This advice brought to you by regular reader Louisa.

Wednesday 4 November 2009

*is a great big scaredy cat*

I have a dental appointment this morning, and I am practically hyperventilating. I'm petrified of the dentist, always have been.

Well, maybe not always. I was fine when I was younger, but after eighteen months of wearing braces, dentist visits became unbearable. Luckily for me, I have good teeth. On the downside, my gums are not so clever. The amount of movement that went on when my teeth were being straightened left my lower gums prone to what the dentists call 'pockets'. This means that they need a scale and polish more often than most people. Trouble is, each time I have a scale and polish, the 'pockets' get a little deeper.


For the last five or six years I have been unable to have a scale and polish without the aid of several injections to numb the gums. I'm usually fine with needles - I had so many throughout my pregnancies, not to mention the small surgeries I have had, that I'm immune to them. But when it comes to my mouth, no way. I'm sat here cringing as I imagine myself in the dentist's chair in a hour or so. I'll need at least six injections before they start, and each and every one lasts for around ten seconds. OK, that's only a minute of pain, but honestly, I would rather go through childbirth again if I had the option (and my labours were rough).

I know a fear of injections is pretty common, but it still doesn't make me feel any better. I took my seven-year-old last week for a filling, and she was giggling so much that you would have thought she was being tickled. She winced for about two seconds, but when asked, she explained that it was because the dentist had accidentally brushed against a small ulcer. Go figure. My daughter is ten times as brave as me.

I'm such a scaredy cat, that I had to take someone with me when I had to have a wisdom tooth removed a couple of years ago. Seriously. A thirty-something woman needed someone to hold her hand. The dentist (who knows what a wuss I am) suggested I get some Valium prior to the extraction, that's how bad I am.

Anywho, I don't have anyone to hold my hand today, and it's a double whammy. Not only is it my six-monthly scale and polish, but I need a small filling too. I made sure to get two appointments right after each other, that way the injections from the scale and polish will cover me for the filling too. I can just about muster the courage for these visits once every six months, but twice in a week?  There's no way in this world that's ever going to happen.*shudders*

I'll be there in an hour. *cries* But in two hours I'll be home again. *tiny yay* Of course, I'll be drooling for the rest of the day because my jaw will be number than a bum that's been sat on a cold floor for too long. On the plus side, my nervousness has meant that I was up early and have thoroughly cleaned the entire house, and written my blog too. When I get home, I can concentrate on my NaNo stuff. Of course, I'll need to make sure the keyboard stays dry. A combination of scaredy cat tears and dribble from a slack jaw could prove to be a deadly combination....

4 comments:

  1. Ahhhhhh, two words... LAUGHING GAS.

    As for the injections... don't they put a topical on to numb before the shot? I couldn't get them without that.

    I hate the dentist too, although my braces adventure (also 18 months... imagine that) left me LOVING clean teeth.

    (great job for keeping up blogging while NaNoing!)

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  2. And now it's all over! :) I used to love the dentist when I was a kid (you got stuff for free, even if it was just a plastic necklace or a travel sized tube of tooth paste). Now, however, due to moving and suddenly being in charge of booking appointments myself (not to mention that I have to pay now, as opposed to when I was under 18 - it's free), I haven't been to the dentist for three years... I really should, before any cavities sneak up on my so far zero cavities teeth...

    And I agree - yay for blogging AND kick-ass word count! :)

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  3. Nope, no magic cream before the injections... unfortunately. Tami, that's something else we have in common! *adds to list*

    Mari, I was just like you. I hit 18 and didn't visit the dentist until I was 22. The only reason I went THEN is because I needed to register Dale. I go when I'm supposed to now, I can't really NOT go when I'm taking the kids. I don't have to pay, thankfully, because of our tax credits system.

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  4. I hate visiting the dentist. It's always something: new filling, bleeding swollen gums, or the uncomfortable cleanings. But, like someone stated, it's kind of hard to take the kids and not make an appointment for myself.

    By the way, my appointment is on the 18th and I am not looking forward to it.

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