1 October 2009

Went to the dentist on Tuesday for the normal 6-month cleaning. Always fun, that.

I know I'm probably like most people with regards to brushing and flossing. Every time you have an appointment at the dentist, you do a mad rush of both every day in the final few weeks, trying to make up for all the times that were skipped. And then, after some chiding during the cleaning, you re-dedicate yourself, saying, "I'm going to brush and floss every day this time.... Really!" And for the best of us, that usually lasts for about two weeks until we settle back into our old routine.

For the toothbrush, I went electric a while back, which seems to have helped. The ad copy says that 2 minutes of brushing with an electric is like 10 minutes of brushing with a regular toothbrush. For me, it's a drawn-out affair, never that 2-minute deal. Flossing is a real time-consumer. Before I know it, I've spent 15 minutes on cleaning my chompers.

There's a commercial that runs in the Providence area for a dentist office where a woman says, "I love my dentist. How many people can say that they love their dentist?" Well, my hygienist is my cousin (a lot of the family goes to this office partly because of that and because it's one of the best places around) so I figure I can say I love my dental hygienist. It's also helped out vis-a-vis when taking X-rays, they take four and charge for one, or last year when the dentist was doing some silver amalgam filling on one wisdom tooth and ended up doing them all while he was in there, at no additional charge. Not having dental insurance myself, it's very much appreciated.

Didn't have any cavities or anything this time, and no "Holy hell!!!" moments where you leave impressions on the hand grips in the chair, though they said that getting the wisdom teeth out is on the horizon, with some early indications of softness on the back of the upper right wisdom tooth. Said I have perfect teeth otherwise (honestly, he said that. Admittedly, I had braces as a kid). It's just very hard to reach way back there, even at the dentist's with their specialized tools.

But, truthfully, I'm going to brush and floss every day now.... Really!