Yesterday I had to go to the dentist, which for me is equivalent to a face to face with Torquemada, the most infamous Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition. "I will get the truth out of you heathen--open your mouth!" (As he approaches with a pair of pliers.) I hate dentists, as you may have surmised.
To begin with, the dentist's office is on main street with three parking places only. I had to park in front of the courthouse and toddle across in traffic. I had been told to come early to fill out paperwork--but when I came in the snotty little gal behind the desk said grimfaced that I was two hours early (I said one hour early, she kept arguing and insisted two.) I said I'd wait. Why didn't she just say "sorry about the mixup; make yourself comfortable" and let it go at that. With dismay I realized here I was again being that person of whom others would say "She's been nothing but trouble since she got here."
The waiting room would have appealed to Torquemada--stark and bare and dark. The room needed a lamp and a couple of houseplants and a painting on the wall. Finally I was called back to a room. The hallway carpet was dirty--it needed vacuuming really bad, followed by a shampoo. When a business lets its physical plant deteriorate, it's not a good sign. An X-ray was taken. I dawdled, reading a People mag and swishing with mouthwash. The dentist and his assistant came in--he showed me the X-ray. The tooth was dead, that was obvious to everyone. It had to come out.
The dentist was a small soft spoken man--since we had never seen each other before I expected him to introduce himself, e.g.--"I'm Dr. Baker," etc. No. I asked how his extraction instruments were sterilized. He said they were steam autoclaved. (I had a friend in California who, along with 12 other people, got hepatitis from unsterilized dental tools.) He said today I'm going to give you antibiotics and come back in 10 days for the extraction. I said no, I had taken some antibiotics I already had and was ready to get the tooth out. (Again, I was getting those you're nothing but trouble vibes.) I asked him to put on clean gloves before any procedure in my mouth.
BUT-he was the most gentle person I have ever had contact with. His approach and touch was exquisitely light and gentle as he numbed my gums and injected Novacain and tugged the tooth out. No Torquemada he. I found out he has a reputation for his tenderness. Too bad this man with the wonderful hands and technique has a snotty receptionist and has let his hallway get so dirty. But there I go, being nothing but trouble again.
susil
posted on June 30, 2009 5:32 AM ()
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