Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 (NIV)
I make no bones about how much I hate the dentist. Even my poor dentist who has never done anything to deserve my distain knows how much I hate to come and see him. It all stems back to when I was about eight and had thirteen cavities filled in one visit. Or maybe when I was eighteen and had a bad reaction to pain medications after oral surgery to remove two wisdom teeth. It makes me cringe to think of someone messing around in my mouth, giving me shots, drilling holes or scrapping on my teeth. If I didn’t know how much I depend upon my teeth, for more than chewing, but also speech and appearance, I might consider having them all pulled out so I didn’t have to go to the dentist again. Despite my loathing of the dentist chair, the dentist I currently go to has two things that keep me from running screaming from his office. He can give shots without more than a pin prick and he has an office dog, a black lab that follows him from room to room. Blue is getting grey around the muzzle now and has had to swear off dog biscuits in order to keep his weight down, but he still puts his head on my leg, looks at me with soulful eyes, and says, “There, there, it will all be over soon enough.” I say all of this so you will know that when I bit down on a piece of bread on Tuesday and had excruciating pain you will understand why I didn’t immediately call my dentist. When it happened again on Wednesday, I had visions of a cracked tooth, root canals and crowns and dialed his number out of sheer terror. Due to my work schedule, I could not get in to see him until Friday afternoon at 4:00. Not really the most opportune time for a dentist appointment which was sure to mess up my weekend, not to mention Friday date night dinner. Blue met me at the door and escorted me to my room. Leaving a drool stain on my pants leg, he went to get the dentist. After a lot of tapping on my teeth, biting down on a metal tool, the dentist failed to elicit the pain I felt earlier in the week. He smiled and said, he thought he knew what was the problem, but needed to verify with an x-ray. Blue hustled out of the room, even a dentist’s dog knows to avoid any more radiation than necessary. The x-ray revealed no dental problems but a sinus infection. Praise God! I said it aloud and the dentist laughed, then gave me a prescription for an antibiotic and sent me on my way elated though slightly foolish, but glad my mouth wasn’t numb. No matter what your fears, don’t be afraid to go to God for direction and comfort. Having Him at your side is even better than a dentist dog.
PS I think it no coincidence that I got a sinus infection after I stopped using the Neilmed Sinus Flush System when I went on vacation three weeks ago and hadn’t started using it again. I’m just saying even though make no commission off their sales.
My dentalphobia stems from childhood dental experiences too.
I have a great dentist now, who has taken the fear out of going. I'm keeping her.
She doesn't have an office Lab though. Soulful Lab eyes may be just as good as novacaine.
… well, maybe not, but they go good together I think.
I think a Lab would make my experience much better also…guess I'll have to mention it to my dentist….or maybe a little lap dog.
http://www.alwayslingerawhile.blogspot.com
We must all have our horror stories. That's great that it wasn't a tooth, though.
Use your sinus rinse. Many of the folks with CF swear by them.
I would definitely LOVE a dog in my dentist's office. Although I love dogs of all sizes, I think a lap dog would be particularly comforting as the dentist pokes around in my mouth with pointy objects.
p.s. my word verification is "spermi" which has nothing to do with anything, I am merely mentioning it.