Clean and shiny

I went to the dentist today. It had been about two years since I'd last seen Dr. Ellashek as I didn't have insurance and it was one of those costly things that was very easy to put off. Now that I have insurance, however, I figured I should take advantage of it and go to the dentist.

Of course, it's not a very pleasant experience, and whenever you mention to someone that you're going to the dentist, the person with whom you are speaking usually gets a horrified look on his or her face and makes a noise like "Ohhnnhshlghaie!"

Truthfully, I've never had a bad experience at the dentist. Once, I had to get a wisdom tooth pulled, and I was deathly afraid of getting the shot in my mouth. I told this to Dr. Ellashek, and he assured me that I wouldn't feel a thing. ("Yeah, right! that's what they all say", is what I was thinking) He pinched my cheek between his finger and thumb and jiggled it some then he said "There". It was finished. I had my shot, and he was right! I didn't feel a thing. He had my tooth pulled in about 5 minutes, and I was on my way.

Once, I had a soft spot on one of my teeth. It wasn't a cavity, but it could have turned into one, so he wanted to drill the soft spot off. He proceeded to drill without any novocaine. I expressed some concern, and again, he told me "Don't worry, you won't feel a thing." This time, however, he added, "But if you do, then we'll get you some novocaine." Again, I felt nothing.

So, today's trip to the dentist wasn't worrisome for me. In fact, I love the way my teeth feel after a good cleaning, and I like how they look shiny. I had x-rays, I had a cleaning, my teeth were polished and lastly, flossed. Dr. Ellashek came in, checked out my teeth and x-rays, pronounced that I was cavity-free and sent me on my way.

All in all, I had a pretty good visit with my dentist. I would recommend him to anyone who has a fear of all things dental.