Going to the Dentist

I have always absolutely loved going to the dentist. There are only 2 specific times I can remember not liking it and that's it. The first time was when I was a child. I didn't take care of my teeth very well and would either not brush them at all, or I would only brush the fronts of them so that my mom would think I actually did the whole job. Well, that came around to bite me in the rear end when I went to the dentist. I couldn't hide my lack of dental hygiene from him which ended up with me getting not only a whole bunch of cavities filled, but also getting a silver cap on one of my teeth (luckily it was one of my baby teeth I hadn't lost yet and it eventually fell out). He pulled out that big giant needle to "numb" my mouth and I about had a heart attack. I was only young, but I remember telling them I had to go to the bathroom before they shoved that needle into my gums and I went to compose myself. I was really freaking out and ended up crying the whole time I stood behind that bathroom door. I learned my lesson right then and there. From that point on I have been an avid brusher, flosser, and mouthwasher. In high school and college I would actually carry around a toothbrush with me so that I could brush my pearly whites whenever I so desired. I was pretty awesome. And from this grew my love for the dentist because from that moment on I didn't have a single cavity. I always got a raving review from whoever my dentist was as they told me to "keep up the good work." Why yes... I think I will! I have calmed down a bit since being married and actually being too busy to brush at my beck and call. I have even become a bit lazy and instead of flossing daily its now every other day or every few days (a gross habit that I wish I could snap out of!) But I still get those compliments every time I go. I'm really not trying to brag, but its one of the few things I am good at without even really trying.

The second and last time I didn't like my dental experience was when I was 8 months pregnant with Carter. I had to get my wisdom teeth pulled because our insurance was about to change and wouldn't cover dental visits 100%. They couldn't give me the good pain killer stuff because of the baby, so they just had to pull out that GIANT needle again and numb me up the old fashioned way. That wasn't even the worst part. The nerves of the tooth roots didn't quite numb up the whole way so as they were working on me, horrible shooting pain began where my wisdom teeth were being pulled. So they pulled that GIANT needle out again and shoved it once again into my gums. But, of course, for some reason it still wasn't working so I just had to sit for about an hour through the searing pain. One of my wisdom teeth broke apart so it took even longer to get those suckers out. I started having major contractions because my body was on high alert and super tense. It was the worst experience of my life- at least at my beloved dentists office.


When I was in college I had a semi bad experience, but not one that involved physical pain- only emotional pain. I went for a simple cleaning and checkup but had complained that my front tooth was a little bit jagged. He told me it was a simple fix and just filed it down a little bit... or so I thought. I realized when I got home that the dentist had filled it WAY down and that the middle of the tooth was filed down more than the sides so it looked a bit concave. I cried and cried because my teeth weren't even anymore. It wasn't super obvious to anyone but me, but it made me self conscious of my smile for many years after that.

 Here is a picture of the weirdo tooth

And for those who can't see how bad it looked in the above picture, here is an oh so attractive close up!

Two weeks ago I went in for my semi-annual cleaning and asked my current dentist if there was a problem with my front tooth that had been filed down. It has felt a little thin to me and has chipped recently so I wondered if there was something I could do about it. He surprised me by saying that if I came back in another day he would take about a half hour and make my tooth look identical to the other normal looking one. I was so excited! So this morning I went in and had my first cosmetic dental surgery! Haha, sounds weird when you say it that way. I had to get the whole giant needle in my mouth for the 3rd time in my life, but I really didn't mind it too much this time. As I was sitting there waiting for the pain killer to kick in and numb me up, I started feeling a little out of it because of how tired I have been. My mind started wondering and this is what I started thinking about.... go figure!

I asked my dentist if he knew this song and he said he loved it! He has wanted to learn the lyrics so that he can sing it or hum it while he works on people. Better yet, he thinks it would be awesome to have this video playing on the ceiling while people get their mouths worked on. I laughed and told him it would probably have the opposite effect of whatever good he thinks that would do.

Here is the new look! Coincidentally, I am actually waiting for it to be filed down again :) If you look really hard you can see that one tooth is longer than the other until he files it down. My tongue looks weird because I am trying to feel the tooth through all of the numbness.

 Needless to say my mouth looks extra purty now! I came home and Kaleb was pretty oblivious to what I was going to the dentist to do. When he saw me he said "So what did you go to the dentist to do?" and I opened my mouth to tell him while smiling a bit and before I could even say anything he said "Oh wow! I can already see what he did. It looks good!" So, maybe my filed down tooth was a bit more obvious to others than I thought? But I am so happy that I have two normal looking front teeth now! Hooray for the dentist office! 

No longer weirdo concave tooth! 

 (sorry for the awkward looking lips. They were not only numb, but also super dry from being held open for a half hour.)

I am pretty happy!