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poliphilo ([personal profile] poliphilo) wrote2005-05-03 09:28 am
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Me And My Dentists

When I was a small child we had this dentist who didn't believe in using the drill on kids.

He was a nice old man. My dad played golf with him.

If I got a cavity he just filled it full of hot metal. When friends complained about the pains of dentistry I smiled indulgently. They should go see my dentist. He didn't hurt.

Then our man retired or dropped dead and we had to move to another practice. This new dentist (Dr Dresner- he had a glamorous blonde assistant and an Errol Flynn moustache) spent a year- and more- undoing everything the first dentist had done. And what he did involved drills, big needles, the works.

It left a mental scar.

Guess where I'm going this morning.....

[identity profile] tx-cronopio.livejournal.com 2005-05-03 01:45 am (UTC)(link)
Ugh. And I was 15 before they figured out I was highly resistant to novocaine. Yep, I feel your pain!

[identity profile] poliphilo.livejournal.com 2005-05-03 01:53 am (UTC)(link)
Resistant to novocaine- that's horrible!

It's just a check-up this morning. If there's anything to be done I'll have to make a follow-up appointment.

[identity profile] suzilem.livejournal.com 2005-05-03 01:48 am (UTC)(link)
oooh. you have my sympathy. When I was a child, I went to a dentist who firmly believed that baby teeth didn't have any nerves.

ouch.

[identity profile] poliphilo.livejournal.com 2005-05-03 01:55 am (UTC)(link)
Omigod!

I think dentistry has progressed by leaps and bounds. My current dentist (who is young enough to be my son) doesn't hurt at all. I'm amazed at how gentle he is.

[identity profile] arielstarshadow.livejournal.com 2005-05-03 05:08 am (UTC)(link)
Although not as lucky as you as far as a dentist who didn't drill, I still loved going as a child, and for the life of me, I don't know why. I think I had maybe four cavities, and all I remember is that I never needed any novocaine. He just drilled away, and I just sat there, pleased as punch.

Now, I hate the dentist, for a number of reasons. I'm sorry you have to go; I'll keep my fingers crossed that there are no cavities to be filled!

[identity profile] poliphilo.livejournal.com 2005-05-03 05:21 am (UTC)(link)
Thanks.

No I didn't have any cavities. The dentist took some x-rays and, provided those are clear, I won't have to see him again for 9 months.

[identity profile] halfmoon-mollie.livejournal.com 2005-05-03 05:11 am (UTC)(link)
My mother shares your fear. She is allergic to novacaine, so they used to give her laughing gas. She had to have some teeth out when she was a kid (fell out of a car window) and they gave her 'twilight sleep'. She couldn't move, but she could feel everything they did to her. When the dentist didn't believe her, she repeated the conversation he and his assistant had been having.

Good luck.

[identity profile] poliphilo.livejournal.com 2005-05-03 06:02 am (UTC)(link)
Thanks.

That turned out to be a very satisfactory visit. My teeth are in fine shape.

I remember having gas as a child. It was indescribable experience, not entirely unpleasant, but involving the loss of control (which I hate.)

[identity profile] jackiejj.livejournal.com 2005-05-03 06:05 am (UTC)(link)
My daughter had gas when she was seven.

She came out looking very sleepy.

Did you sleep? I asked her.

No, she said. I dreamed.

[identity profile] poliphilo.livejournal.com 2005-05-03 06:18 am (UTC)(link)
I don't remember dreaming under gas.

More's the pity.....

[identity profile] jackiejj.livejournal.com 2005-05-03 06:22 am (UTC)(link)
I've never had it. I have a real thing about not being in control, especially with people hovering over me!

[identity profile] jackiejj.livejournal.com 2005-05-03 06:03 am (UTC)(link)
Ah, Tony.

I suppose you are home safe now, reading this, and I hope you'll do something celebratory for worries ended.

Perhaps a walk with Holga to an interesting place?

Hopefully, all went serenely for you.

[identity profile] poliphilo.livejournal.com 2005-05-03 06:17 am (UTC)(link)
Yes, thank you, everything went fine. No work to be done unless something shows up on the x-rays.

I came home to find Ailx had been turning all sorts of things into juice.

She offerered me a sip of her apple-cabbage-cucumber-lettuce juice. A sip was enough. It was green and frothy.

I rewarded myself for the morning's trials with a glass of freshly squeezed orange.

[identity profile] arielstarshadow.livejournal.com 2005-05-03 06:40 am (UTC)(link)
I seem to remember one of our infomercials that talked about "juicing" to say that if you want to juice veggies and have the juice still be sweet and delicious, you have to use enough of a strong fruit to mask the vegetable taste. Apple is a pretty subtle flavour - I would suggest trying pineapple, orange, or maybe strawberry and see if that helps. :)

[identity profile] poliphilo.livejournal.com 2005-05-03 07:32 am (UTC)(link)
Well, apple is the predominant flavour in Ailz's green concoction. Apple with a subtle hint of cabbage. Maybe if I'd been blindfolded before it was offered me I might even have quite liked it.

But, anyway, she's happy to drink it so it won't go to waste.

[identity profile] besideserato.livejournal.com 2005-05-03 06:48 am (UTC)(link)
I was going to say "Ooh, Errol Flynn!" but then I read the rest.

I hope everything's OK. I hate the dentist, too. I try go a lot so I catch the Big Issues before they become BIG ISSUES.

Ick. I wish you the best!

[identity profile] poliphilo.livejournal.com 2005-05-03 07:35 am (UTC)(link)
Everything turned out fine, thanks.

I see the dentist every nine months. I went through a period a couple of decades back where I skipped attendance for a few years- and wound up with an abcess. I won't make that mistake again.

[identity profile] besideserato.livejournal.com 2005-05-03 06:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah! That sounds horrible. Yes, I think it's better to go and suffer a little than skip and then suffer a lot all in one sitting. Glad everything is OK for you!

[identity profile] hepo.livejournal.com 2005-05-03 08:08 am (UTC)(link)
Your a far braver man then I.

[identity profile] poliphilo.livejournal.com 2005-05-03 08:47 am (UTC)(link)
I stopped going to the dentist for a few years in the late 1980s and discovered the hard way that prevention is better than cure.

[identity profile] morrison-maiden.livejournal.com 2005-05-03 09:56 am (UTC)(link)
Oh dear! I hope your appointment is/was relatively painless :-\

[identity profile] poliphilo.livejournal.com 2005-05-03 10:09 am (UTC)(link)
It was fine, thanks.

It looks like I've got a clean bill of health for the next 9 months.

[identity profile] morrison-maiden.livejournal.com 2005-05-03 10:38 am (UTC)(link)
Yay! :)