It's been a long time coming ... the dental appointment I postponed when my sinuses became infected.
6 or 7 years on the run, with only the completely necessary being repaired as it became unavoidable and never ever the full mouth x-ray.
As of this morning, I had survived the 3 long dark nights of my toothy soul thinking about today's possibilities, narrowing them down to 2-3 root canal fillings, an extraction, and worst-case scenario ... the decay that had eaten into my jawbone and required immediate surgery.
And so it was that I returned to the dentist for 'the' extensive x-ray that would reveal ALL this morning.
I had never experienced that kind of total x-ray. I had to stand, bite on a piece of plastic, feet in a particular place and keep still while the x-ray machine circled my head.
The dentist sent me off to the chair to look out over the view while I waited.
She said, smiling, that she hadn't noticed anything really bad last time.
5 minutes later, after what sounded like an 'Oh my god' from the other room, she returned.
She said, 'Well you're not going to believe this but really, there's nothing. All I need to do is clean them for you'.
And she did.
We laughed often.
I remember thinking that any patients in the waiting room are surely going to be cheered by all the laughter.
No dental work.
Hours of worrying.
So, I'm back there for a check-up that I don't plan to miss in January.
Alles goed in the flatlands.
7 comments:
Wow, that's amazing news. How did you laugh when the dentist has stuff in your mouth? It sounds awfully painful.
No no no, no pain. We talked and laughed before and after the x-ray. Then we talked and laughed before the removing of the tartar ... and after, then before the polishing and yay!afterwards too.
It was the best dental visit ever :))
That's wondeful! I've been the same- with moving around so often the dentist is one thing I always put off for later!
It's almost an odd matter of trust when we live like this, isn't it Kim?
I grew up with dentistry done in a particular way back home in NZ but my favourite dentist was always too expensive when I flew in from Istanbul, then I've never been able to fly in from Europe ...
Finding a dentist I trusted here in Belgium has been interesting. A couple of emergency visits, a root canal that petrified me a year or so ago...today was a really big day for me. :)
Relief is one of my favourite feelings.
I go to the dentist tomorrow. Get a mammogram today. Gah...I am not normally anxious about either type of appointment but the way my luck has been lately, I'm bracing for bad news.
Ik ook, Simon.
I'm sure you'll be fine, V. You've been so much more responsible than me ;)
Post a Comment