I finally pulled myself together to go visit my dentist today. I had been procrastinating this for almost 2 years now, and it had been pricking on my conscience every now and then. I mean, who of you out there actually look forward to visit your dentist? The childhood fear lives on in adulthood, doesn't it? And not without reason either.
If I may be openly honest with you, the longest time I had allowed to pass without visiting the dentist is actually....12 years!!! You see, from the time I started primary school at age 7 in Singapore till the time I finished secondary school at age 16, it was compulsory to visit the school's dentist twice a year, and for free. I never enjoyed the experience, so after graduating, it was "goodbye dentist" for me.
Besides, I never really knew how to go about finding a dentist, plus they cost a lot, plus I didn't really think much about something which should happen only twice a year. Come to think of it, I'm actually quite fortunate to still have all my teeth intact ;o). My gums did suffer a bit though, so it is important to go for your regular check-ups if you don't want to lose your pearlies.
Martin has actually beaten my record on this; I think his last visit to the dentist is 15 years, and still counting! I keep telling him to make that vital appointment before it gets too late and before it starts costing a fortune to correct things he could have avoided. Imagine if I wake up 1 day to find a lot of empty room in his mouth when I kiss him good morning! Of course such a thing like this could actually happen, but I'm hoping it will be only 50 years from now and not 5 years from now... . I mean, I know he's my big baby and all, but I really don't hope he takes it literally because only real babies can get away with no teeth on their gums.
My dental clinic is just a couple of units down the street from my office, so I can easily pop by for ½hr-45mins during working hours and then back again. Yes, I am actually allowed to use some of my working hours to visit the dentist. Anyway, I had a new dentist attending to me today, and he was really pleasant. I was a little shy at 1st of having a young guy looking into the nasties in my mouth (good I went there before eating my breakfast), but then again, it's not my fault if he chose such an eye-opening profession so I kinda got over that quickly.
Was there pain? I'd be lying if I say "no", but he did do his best not to torture me too much, so it was bearable enough for me to go out of there alive. Besides, they need me to pay for the services anyway, so they had better keep me alive. Just a couple of times it did hurt, but I guess there's no way out if it if your dentist is using an instrument like this:
The hook instrument of course, not the mirror. Duh!
Man, I really dislike that menacing-looking hook. That, and the machine look-alike one too. Oh well, like they say, no pain no gain, so in the end, it was good to get it over and done with....at least till the next appointment in 6 months. Teeth felt so clean, that I wish I didn't have to eat anything for the rest of the day just to enjoy the clean feeling. And yay! I've been declared "cavity-free"!
Anyway, I just hope that the 2 wisdom teeth in my lower jaw will NEVER see the light of day. I heard it can be really painful to get those extracted. I had already gotten the 2 upper ones pulled out, and though they weren't so bad as I had expected, I still wouldn't like to have needles poking into my gums to administer the anethesia. So yeah, if these teeth of mine are as wise as their name says they are, they'll know not to pop out in my mouth. Otherwise, I will revoke their so-called "wise" status in a blink of my eye. How's that for a threat, wise guys?
