So much so that I hadn't been in over ten years. Not since i fell off my mom's dental plan when I was a teenager. I hated going. I'd brush and floss and floss and brush and use mouth wash and that terribly floride gel treatment. And I would still have new cavities growing right next to where a filling had been put in.
The dentist would chew my ass. Refill the area, with lots of unpleasant drilling and shots and horrible noises. And the whole thing would happen again at my next check up. I became convinced that he was just being mean to me and refilling the same area over and over for the money.
Since then they've found that there are genetic causes to soft enamel and that some people really can't help it. I'm one. Both my parents had full dentures before thirty. I'm 27.
So, it had been a while since I had gone to a dentist. I don't like the smells, or having to lie in that chair, vulnerable to the world. Or letting someone do something painful and uncomfortable to me, with me paying them. Its almost a phobia.
But me teeth have gotten BAD, very very bad. Today I have one just spontaneously break. Like I was walking through my room and a piece of tooth was just there on my tongue. It freaked me out worse then zombies.
So on my break I called my insurance company to see what coverage I had, very little, and then called around for a dentist. And found a dental clinic with a sliding fee scale. They charge the insurance and then my fee is income based. With three kids in the house, I qualify for almost nothing.
I got in today for an emergency filling. (which is funny because I have several big holes) and am going back in a week for a cleaning. And they are going to plan which ones to fix after that. I am excited on the one hand. Worried on the other.
I get very nervous in the dental office. My blood pressure was very high and never came down. I jumped twice today, and they were doing something minor, quick, and simple. I don't know if I can stand anything longer or more invovled. I wonder if I can get someone to prescribe a valume or something, just to calm ne down? I wonder if that's even legal.
2 comments:
I think it is a trust issue, I have the same problem. There are Dentist who advertise as awake or sleep dentistry they will prescribe something that will make you feel so good. I was having my wisdom teeth extracted and went to this type of dentist. I was humming on the way to the dentist. Couldn't believe it.
It's the only way to fly.
Not sure if the place that charges according to income has a sedation policy . . . but its worth it to ask.
I think I DO trust them. I trust them to hurt me, humiliate me, and take my money for the opportunity to do so.
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