Enjoyed my trip to the dentist this morning, which is to say I did not gag or have a panic attack. I was truly dreading my second crown, as the first about ten years ago was a ghastly experience.
Last evening I reread Pvt. Mastalir's description of military dentistry to work up some enthuiasm for the civilian type. Also some gratitude for dental insurance...
When Dad was finishing his Army Specialist Training Corp program at Georgetown University in December 1943 he woke up with a very stiff jaw, sore throat, and sore tooth. He went to sick bay, and the doctor told him he was cutting a wisdom tooth, and the upper tooth was biting down on the gum.
The next day a dentist at Fort Meyer told a different story. Dad's lower wisdom tooth was embedded in his jaw. The upper wisdom tooth biting down had caused an infection in the gum and tooth. The only treatment would be pulling the upper tooth, then treating the infection before pulling the lower tooth. So the dentist yanked out the upper tooth, and Dad wrote his Ma before the feeling came back.
"Treating the infection" seems to mean mostly gargling with hot salt water for two weeks. Dad was a lifelong believer in this practice. A couple weeks after the first extraction he rode the bus back to Fort Meyer. He got in the chair at 1:15, and was all done and back outside waiting for the bus at 1:45. It was the easiest extraction the dentist had ever done, and he was sorry he sterilized so many tools he did not end up using.
Dad gloated about his free dental work that would have cost $25 for a civilian! Not today. Not this civilian.
I always feel like a total failure at the dentist. The dentist, hygienist, and other staff are all trying to carve Mount Rushmore in my teeth with their picks and mirrors. My tongue is always trying to knock Gutzon Borglum off the mountain.
For the first time in my life I was offered nitrous oxide. Glory Hallelujiah! Then Denise used a magic wand to take digital CAD images of my tooth. I just kept thinking it was like the Google street view camera car back there and I hoped it wasn't bulk trash day on my cul-de-sac. That and trying to remember who sang the songs on the Dental Oldies Radio playlist. (answers below)
Little Ditty About Jack and Diane--John Mellencamp
Runnin' Down a Dream--Tom Petty
Still the Same--Bob Seger
Open Your Heart--Madonna
Gimme Three Steps--Lynyrd Skynyrd
Hit Me With Your Best Shot--Pat Benatar
© 2013-2018 Nancy L. Ruder
No comments:
Post a Comment