Little Shop Of Horrors

I hate going to the dentist. I don't know whether it's due to my early experience of eastern European dentistry or due to the fact that pretty much every single of my molars has a filling or two, but I hate it, Hate It, HATE IT! So when my old dentist, Dr. Reese, retired a couple of years ago, I took it as an excuse to "take some time off". I never gave it much though, except when the occasional tooth ached or when I wondered about my teeth before a scuba dive. However, I had been feeling guilty about not going (must be the lapsed catholic in me) especially when Jennifer was so diligent about her attendance and considering the fact that my dental plan is so much better than hers. So my unofficial New Year's resolution was to get reacquainted with dentistry. And reacquainted I got.

Prelude
The first meeting was a week ago when the dentist, Dr. Besperka, did a general examination (noticing just one cavity), took full x-rays and then the dental hygienist did a cleaning. I was told that I'd need to come back for a deep cleaning (to treat periodontitis) and for general consultation and filling of my one cavity. Oh, and the x-rays might show something else, too. I scheduled the cleaning for right after the filling in order to be able to use the same numbing shot. I felt pretty upbeat - my insurance covered most of the costs and I only had one cavity.

Prognosis
Today was my second meeting and things look a bit bleaker. Dr. Besperka set me down and went over my x-rays. I could clearly see the fillings, the root canals (oh yes, I have had several), etc. He also pointed to several "gray areas" which, according to him, represented cavities that needed to get taken care of. A total of six, although one can wait till next year (gee, thanks). So maybe he needs a new boat or has kids in college or something since this stuff starts adding up.

The worst part of the consultation was this one gray area (which even I clearly made out) around the tip of my worst root canal which, according to Dr. B, indicates an abscessed tooth. It doesn't hurt right now, which is probably because it's at the bottom of a tooth that had been root canalled by Dr. Mengele a couple of years ago (I still vividly remember him screwing that metal stint into the tooth). I'll be referred to an endodontist who, more likely than not, is going to have to go in from the side (through the gum). Oooh baby!

Treatment
After the consultation I was placed in a dental chair and they started working on me. First there was the cherry flavored topical anesthetic for the shots which I though was a placebo (it's not the topical part that hurts during a shot but the deep part, when he's rooting around for who knows what). After the shots came the drilling and filling. Which actually wasn't all that bad, even though they did not offer me N2O (and they claim to be "sensitive to their patients' emotional and physical needs"). I even warranted the cute dental assistant.

After the filling Dr. B gave me a couple more shots to prepare me for the cleaning - these came without the topical anesthetic and I decided that it had not been a placebo after all. The deep cleaning and scraping was bearable, although David had to keep fighting with my semiconscious tongue half the time (my tongue was winning).

The Future
So now I feel like my lip is still swollen and I get to look forward to next week's two-hour drill-n-fill routine and then another appointment to finish the deep cleaning. And after that, I guess, I'll have to get my abscess taken care of. But when all that is done, I'll rent Little Shop Of Horrors and sing along with Steve Martin.