I had my first ever dental fright today. I had a few as a kid, but that was in my younger years and quite expected. As an adult, that had never happened to me before today. I went in to the dentist today for another installment of work that is all part of a comprehensive dental plan. In short, we were to take care of two cavities, one each on their respective molars in the back of my mouth. The student dentist numbs me up with that good ol' topical on the end of one of those long handled swabs that you could check the oil level in your truck if you wanted to. A couple minutes later he reaches in and plans to finish the desensitizing process with a healthy dose of lidocaine shot right in to the nerve bundle in the back right crook of my jaw. He waits a few minutes and then goes in a foraging and a digging with none other than than that monster sized drill bit that shakes your whole head and makes 'fingernails on the chalk board' seem like child's play as goose bumps take over my skin like the latest epidermal malady. All's fine until he drills deep enough to hit what felt like aluminum foil. Do you know the sensation? If you've had cavities as a kid and at some point unknowingly bit down on aluminum foil well enough that it made substantial contact with a filling, then you know what I'm talking about. It's literally like you've been shocked!
I jumped, as anybody with a nervous system would!
"You felt that?!", he says with a healthy dose of surprise. "Oh, yeah and then some.", I say all wild eyed like an animal caught unawares by high beams in the middle of the road, who had no idea that he had drifted out into the middle of a thoroughfare in the first place.
"Okay.... Well, let's fix you up then...", he replies.
"--Yes, Let's!", I interject, slightly cutting him off. Now..., my heart was already racing a little bit to begin with because although I'm not afraid of dentists and their work as a general rule. Truth be told, I do not look forward with anticipation and excitement, counting down the days until my next visit. Well, you can imagine the sensation I was experiencing now. Although it was really quite mild at this point there was now a little seed of fear that wanted to grow into a baby seedling in the back of mind. "Uh, oh", I thought. When was the last time this happened? I searched my memory...and I found only a vague recollection of one time in the very remote past when I had to have more than one dose of the local anesthetic, lidocaine, that is most commonly used in dental procedures. "Okay, I thought. It should only take one more of these and then that should do it." That wasn't the way it played out.... It took 5 more shots of lidocaine all around that side of my mouth and even right up next to the roots of those two molars and yet, there was still a sensitive spot right in the center of each cavity that he was drilling out. Well, there you go. It certainly kept me alert and awake and he took it easy with more scraping and less drilling at high speeds with a coarse bit. He finished it up in a hurry as best as he could, and yet, still had to give me a couple little doses to top it off near the end as he was finishing up as I was starting to feel even more. The good news is that I got those two taken care of. Yay. Done. Well, that about wraps up my drama for the day. Hey, I think that experience might even count a little towards my exercise quota for the week. Cool!
I jumped, as anybody with a nervous system would!
"You felt that?!", he says with a healthy dose of surprise. "Oh, yeah and then some.", I say all wild eyed like an animal caught unawares by high beams in the middle of the road, who had no idea that he had drifted out into the middle of a thoroughfare in the first place.
"Okay.... Well, let's fix you up then...", he replies.
"--Yes, Let's!", I interject, slightly cutting him off. Now..., my heart was already racing a little bit to begin with because although I'm not afraid of dentists and their work as a general rule. Truth be told, I do not look forward with anticipation and excitement, counting down the days until my next visit. Well, you can imagine the sensation I was experiencing now. Although it was really quite mild at this point there was now a little seed of fear that wanted to grow into a baby seedling in the back of mind. "Uh, oh", I thought. When was the last time this happened? I searched my memory...and I found only a vague recollection of one time in the very remote past when I had to have more than one dose of the local anesthetic, lidocaine, that is most commonly used in dental procedures. "Okay, I thought. It should only take one more of these and then that should do it." That wasn't the way it played out.... It took 5 more shots of lidocaine all around that side of my mouth and even right up next to the roots of those two molars and yet, there was still a sensitive spot right in the center of each cavity that he was drilling out. Well, there you go. It certainly kept me alert and awake and he took it easy with more scraping and less drilling at high speeds with a coarse bit. He finished it up in a hurry as best as he could, and yet, still had to give me a couple little doses to top it off near the end as he was finishing up as I was starting to feel even more. The good news is that I got those two taken care of. Yay. Done. Well, that about wraps up my drama for the day. Hey, I think that experience might even count a little towards my exercise quota for the week. Cool!