Dentists

For a good chunk of the last ten years I haven't had any dental coverage.  I couldn't afford the dental visits, so I didn't go.  I hated the dentist, so I wasn't too worried about it.  A year and half ago, I got dental coverage, and started to slowly catch up on all the dental work that was overdue.  My coverage wasn't great, so I had to spread out my visits. 


This was my first experience of not feeling pain at the dentist.  I'm not sure what the deal is, but growing up, I felt every second of the dental drill when I got fillings.  I seriously thought that was normal.  I was so happy when I switched to a new dentist, I didn't feel anything!  But then I switched jobs, and didn't get dental coverage for the first 6 months.  Now I live too far away from that magical dentist- she moved back to Montreal :(


It took me a couple months to find another dentist here.  I had a couple of criteria.  Must have TV's in the ceiling and must do zoom whitening.  Tv's in the ceiling, because I want to watch TV with the volume up, so I'm distracted.  My childhood dentist had wood paneling, a bad sailboat painting on the wall and Kiss FM playing on the radio.  I have had way too much dental work done while listening to the BeeGee's and ABBA.  I am not a fan.  The deal I made with myself was that I would reward myself with zoom whitening after all my required dental work was done. 


I found a great dentist that met all of my criteria and didn't hurt at all.  Plus last time I was there, he gave me a review of the movie review of Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter.  Added bonus, my coverage is now really great, most things are covered 100%.  So strange to not owe anything!  I've had everything done that needed to be done, except getting 2 wisdom teeth pulled.  I went for a consult last week.  The dentist said I would be knocked out, and only 2 need to come out.  What a relief.  But I'm still totally dreading it.  Since I don't feel any pain at the dentist, it's not so bad being there.  Now I'm taking advantage of the great dental coverage by having my old fillings removed and replaced with white fillings (no mercury).   Unfortunately, I will still have a few silver ones at the very back.


I really wish I'd known way back when that trips to the dentist don't have to be painful.  Maybe I would feel differently about the BeeGee's and ABBA today.