I will be flossing every day for the rest of my life.

I went to the dentist on Friday. That was good. I needed to find a new dentist, and this was a little community office, not too busy for me to get in pretty quickly. The dentist was friendly, and they used digital Xrays. As someone who hasn't been to a dentist a couple years, I was primed to be impressed. I met the dentist first, then got the cleaning. At the end of the visit, she came back in to confirm that the horrifying tea stains were cleaned off my teeth (yay!) and to mention that I have "a few cavaties," and she told me to make an appointment to get them filled.

Wha???

So, I have never really had cavities. I have a memory of being asked to get one filled once, but that didn't involve a needle of any type. While most people have done this dance a number of time by my age, I was taken aback. Me? Cavities? The dentist probably assumed I knew the drill (pun intended), and I couldn't muster any questions until after I left. With an appointment to get my cavities filled this morning.

Since I have never been through this process, forgive me for giving excruciating detail to what is routine dental care. Part of me was a little concerned that I might not be at a good dentist, since she seemed to have lots of appointment available to see me. But it wasn't until I was in the chair that it occurred to me I was letting someone permanently remodel my teeth. There was a brief moment when I asked for additional Novocain (because I could feel cold with my tooth, not pain, but um, let's not let that progress), and she asked if I was ok. I know that I was trembling from the needles and seeing (a little) blood on the dental tools, and I realized that I had no proper basis for comparison on whether I was at a good dentist or not.  If half way through my visit I had detected that I had chosen poorly, I already have a bunch of holes in my mouth, so we pretty much have to go through with this. (For the record, I don't think she did anything to make her a bad dentist, but it's hard to think of her fondly under the circumstances.)

I ended up getting 6 total shots of novacain to fill 3 cavaties in three separate corners of my mouth. As I was getting the 3rd shot in the same spot, it occured to my that it would be a long time before my mouth was behaving properly. I was correct in this prediction. Three hours later, I managed to slurp up some squash soup (no chewing) without getting much on my face before a meeting with my boss. Everyone was very empathetic of my lopsided smile, which was nice.

The dentist and her assistant were very reassuring when I told them I was unfamiliar and nervous about the process. The dentist did make a point to say that if I flossed more regularly, that would really prevent these cavities. I haven't had the best of habits until now, but it seems like flossing is WAY less terrible than getting cavities filled.