I'm ashamed to admit that it has been more than just a few years since my last trip to the dentist. But our recently concluded annual physical (as mandated by the company HMO) included a quick dental check-up. Paint my face red indeed. And so I talked to my mom and we finally made arrangements to see her dentist, who is a friend of the family.
But the funny thing about dentists is that they remain one of the scarier aspects of the medical world, no matter how logically you think of things. I guess it's the somewhat disturbing whine of the various tools that dentists use that really drives the discomfort. Plus the fact the vibrations just seem to reverberate through your skull, hence making you feel, well, all wrong.
And this is the reason, I feel, that a lot of us will opt for "family dentists" or those referred by friends over any "free" ones you might be able to work with via your HMO. And given my particular case of having not gone for years, I was pretty sure that any dental work would be beyond the minimal coverage our HMO plan offers.
Today's visit wasn't too bad. The first half was certainly an exhausting (and obviously overdue) cleaning session that had her digging into a lot of places that I wish she hadn't. And then we moved on to diagnose how much additional work was needed. While I'm not losing any teeth just yet, but I will need to a bunch of smaller cavities covered over. We worked on a single quadrant today and will address in the others in the weeks to come. And while I'm still able to eat, I'm feeling terribly beat up.
Plus I still have one more work shift tonight. Major ugh.
On the flip side, I do rather enjoy that lovely clean feeling that you get right after a cleaning. The ability to run your tongue across the back of your teeth and clearly feel the outline of each and every tooth is, well, a different kind of bliss. Or something. Needless to say I'm still happy that I finally addressed this particular health item and I'll do my best to stick to this and make sure that I return for the prescribed bi-annual cleaning sessions.
Well, at least after we get the more immediate restoration work done first.
And this is the reason, I feel, that a lot of us will opt for "family dentists" or those referred by friends over any "free" ones you might be able to work with via your HMO. And given my particular case of having not gone for years, I was pretty sure that any dental work would be beyond the minimal coverage our HMO plan offers.
Today's visit wasn't too bad. The first half was certainly an exhausting (and obviously overdue) cleaning session that had her digging into a lot of places that I wish she hadn't. And then we moved on to diagnose how much additional work was needed. While I'm not losing any teeth just yet, but I will need to a bunch of smaller cavities covered over. We worked on a single quadrant today and will address in the others in the weeks to come. And while I'm still able to eat, I'm feeling terribly beat up.Plus I still have one more work shift tonight. Major ugh.
On the flip side, I do rather enjoy that lovely clean feeling that you get right after a cleaning. The ability to run your tongue across the back of your teeth and clearly feel the outline of each and every tooth is, well, a different kind of bliss. Or something. Needless to say I'm still happy that I finally addressed this particular health item and I'll do my best to stick to this and make sure that I return for the prescribed bi-annual cleaning sessions.
Well, at least after we get the more immediate restoration work done first.
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