I am probably one of the few people who enjoys going to the dentist. You see, my dentist gave me an electric toothbrush as a wedding gift, and she never mentions the fact that I don’t floss.* Even though I’ve moved to another part of the Washington DC area, I am loyal to my dentist and drive nearly 25 miles each way for the appointment.Over the years, I have got to know the office receptionist and the dental hygienists. I have had one hygienist in particular during my last few appointments, and we generally have a good relationship in which we joke with each other. During my most recent appointment on Monday, I innocently asked her if she had traveled anywhere and basically what was new. After a fairly long pause, she shared that she and her boyfriend broke up. Ouch. My witty response: “Well, that is new.”
She chuckled slightly and continued to scrape my teeth with the metal instrument. I wasn’t sure how to respond to this but during the next break, I asked if it was mutual. Nope. The scraping continued. How long were you dating? Four years. Dagger. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier to have a metal instrument in my mouth.** I was digging myself into a bigger hole and was happy not to be able to ask further questions. For example, would it have been inappropriate to mention that I have some single guy friends?
Anyway, I also learned that she wanted to get married and he did not; if she had to tell one more person that she got dumped, she was going to vomit; and that she wasn’t able to sleep all weekend. Now I start to worry about the scraping instrument near my tongue and gums. During the next break, I manage to change the topic to soccer refereeing and annoying soccer parents and coaches. Good times!
Oh, and no cavities!
* I’m going to use lacochran’s footnotes again. While there’s a high probability that Oral-B sent my dentist the toothbrush for free, she didn’t have to give it to me as a gift. How many dentists do you know that give their patients gifts? The mini tube of toothpaste doesn’t count!
** This sentence sounds wrong.
hey sean - nice story. good chatting with you the other day!
ReplyDeleteThanks Barb. It was great chatting with you too!
ReplyDeleteWords I live by:
ReplyDeleteDon't irritate the person about to:
poke you with a needle
bring your food to you
cut your hair
Now I have to add:
apply sharp implements to your teeth and gums.
Glad you made it through.
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ReplyDeleteWow, that’s loyalty indeed! I think your dentist is quite special that you have to drive so far just to go see her when you could have tried a new one when you moved. The relationship you’ve built with your dentist is great, because that makes the visits a lot easier to deal with, and actually something to look forward to. Your dentist sounds not only very good at her job, but also really good with people! I’m sure she’ll be very glad to know that you think so highly of her.
ReplyDelete