Day Off

This is how I spent my day off yesterday:

1. drop my girls off at school
2. Coffee with my posse
3. @ church to finish the newsletter
4. Looked in a couple of shops for needed items
5. Lunch @ the Vietnamese Garden (yum)
6. To FastSigns to order a sign for the Band Boosters’ Jazz Fest sign
7. Went to the physical therapy place to set up an appointment
8. Pick up my girls at school

Monday was another day off, because of President's Day. Boy, it's nice working for a business that closes for federal holidays! Anyway, I spent a bit of Monday morning at the dentist office.

I used to joke that I was responsible for funding my dentist's family trip to Disneyworld every year. I've had a mouthful of fillings ever since I was about four years old. I did recently have a streak of cavity-less check ups. Alas, the streak has ended. A molar, already mostly metal, had a small cavity that needed to be attended to.

I loved visits to the dentist when I was young. Dr. Wong was a WONDERFUL dentist. I even made up toothaches to go see him and his nurse. I didn't realize as a preschooler that the visits cost money. And my teeth weren't so good, anyway. I remember Dr. Wong talking non-stop, and telling me that I could watch what he was doing in the reflection of his eyeglasses. I went to Dr. Wong for years.

I had a new dentist when we moved to Pennsylvania from California. Dr. H lived in our town and his kids were classmates of my younger siblings.

I clearly remember the first time that I was in to get yet another cavity filled. I was 13 years old. He turned from his intruments towards me, a hypo in hand with the longest needle that I had ever seen.

"What are you going to do with THAT?!" I just about jumped up from the chair.

He looked both annoyed and puzzled. "I have to numb you before I start drilling." He sat back a bit. "You've had this done plenty of times before!"

Yeah, but I had NEVER seen or known that a needle was involved. Dr. Wong was THAT good.

Dr. H had to double-dose me for years because I was so keyed up that I would still feel the drilling after just one shot.

So, while I am better about the dentist - well, I was never bad about it, just really didn't like it anymore - drilling still just about ruins my day. So there I am on Monday to get another filling. The dentist's office was full of people, apparently they were all booked up. I sat in the chair, waiting for Dr. N (Dr. H retired years ago), trying not to get nervous. okay, trying not to get more nervous.

I could hear people talking from all over the office - it was actually quite loud. There were all sort of other noises, too: the whine of a drill, the strong swoosh of that air contraption, some other machinery that I don't know, and under it all, soft pop/rock music coming from the overhead speakers.

Dr. N came in and told me that this cavity was a small one in a molar that already had a large filling in it. He was hoping to just fill the cavity, but said that the tooth might crack because of the thinness of the tooth wall. He's skillful and was able to drill just right.