Thursday, February 07, 2002
A TRIP TO THE DENTIST
I spent my day off going to the dentist today. Since I was a little kid, I've always hated going to the dentist. My dentist is actually a family member and is extremely nice socially, but I hated having to sit there with my mouth open for hours on end just so he could cause me pain. He would always have to tell me to open my mouth wider and to keep my tongue from the area he was working on. And what may have been worst of all is that he wears glasses so I could see exactly what he was doing through his glasses. So that's why, to this day, I still can't look at him while he works. And I've had to do all these things to make myself feel better about going. And even as I went there today, I still find myself doing the same things.
First off, I make sure my mom (and now me) parks the car just outside the dentist office so that I can see it from the window. That gives me something familiar to look at and and to examine instead of looking into my dentist's glasses. And while sitting in the waiting room, Sandra and I would always take the Highlights children magazines and do the "Find the hidden items" page and look at the "What's Wrong?" page. I would also play Charades with Raymond. And today, even though I went by myself, I still thumbed through the Highlights magazine and felt a very strong urge to play Charades all of a sudden.
Well, the good news is that everything is all good with my teeth. Well, with one exception. I'm going to have to make an appointment with an oral surgeon to have my wisdom teeth pulled.
See, I can try to make my trips to the dentist as enjoyable as possible and have it remind me of some fond childhood memories, but in the end, it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth (of fluoride).
I spent my day off going to the dentist today. Since I was a little kid, I've always hated going to the dentist. My dentist is actually a family member and is extremely nice socially, but I hated having to sit there with my mouth open for hours on end just so he could cause me pain. He would always have to tell me to open my mouth wider and to keep my tongue from the area he was working on. And what may have been worst of all is that he wears glasses so I could see exactly what he was doing through his glasses. So that's why, to this day, I still can't look at him while he works. And I've had to do all these things to make myself feel better about going. And even as I went there today, I still find myself doing the same things.
First off, I make sure my mom (and now me) parks the car just outside the dentist office so that I can see it from the window. That gives me something familiar to look at and and to examine instead of looking into my dentist's glasses. And while sitting in the waiting room, Sandra and I would always take the Highlights children magazines and do the "Find the hidden items" page and look at the "What's Wrong?" page. I would also play Charades with Raymond. And today, even though I went by myself, I still thumbed through the Highlights magazine and felt a very strong urge to play Charades all of a sudden.
Well, the good news is that everything is all good with my teeth. Well, with one exception. I'm going to have to make an appointment with an oral surgeon to have my wisdom teeth pulled.
See, I can try to make my trips to the dentist as enjoyable as possible and have it remind me of some fond childhood memories, but in the end, it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth (of fluoride).
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