avoid the wrath of my dentist

I had my dentist appointment today, and I’ve been given a reprieve. It seems all my brushing and flossing and use of the water-pik earns a big, ole pat on the back from both the dentist and her assistant.

The bad news? I grind my teeth at night, so I’m going to need a crown for a tooth sometime in the future. It’ll set me back a grand. And, to some extent I suspect I got praised for my oral hygeine as a way of buttering me up for the additional dental work.

The good news, though? This is the first 43Things goal I can mark as done!

In my past life, I wasn’t so good about the whole dentist thing. Brushing the teeth, I managed. Flossing, not so much. And visiting the dentist? Lived in mortal fear of them and their nasty little shots. I tended to skip appointments, especially when I was poor student. I think I went five years without seeing one.

After years of abusing my teeth, I’ve finally gotten into a regular check-up schedule. But the damage has been done—no cavities (hah!) but some bone loss. Now I have to see the dentist every three months and not every six like everyone else.

Ever since that first, long-overdue appointment, though, I’ve avoided my dentist’s wrath. Here’s the weird thing—I still live in fear of my dentist, reliving her disapproving looks and her dental assistant’s tsk-tsks. This is what keeps me brushing & flossing religiously. My next appointment is only a couple of weeks away, and I’m hoping to avoid her wrath this time around, too!