Dentists

I visited the dentist the other day.

I hate visiting the dentist.  I hate the intrusion; someone I barely know sticking their fingers, mirrors and sharp, pointy, metal instruments into my mouth.

And does anyone else experience jaw ache after a dentist visit?  It hurts to eat and open my mouth and it's over a day since my ordeal.

I had a couple of x-rays while I was there.  No reason for them other than it had been a while since I had some.  That was horribly uncomfortable; being asked to bite down on some hard, sharp plastic to keep the film in place.

And then there's the scrape and polish which just sounds disgusting.  The "something and something" as a medical procedure.  I don't know why but it makes me think of D&C which is a very unpleasant connotation.

So scraping and polishing means using what my dentist calls the "Instrument of torture" combined with a metal scraping tool to clean the teeth.  When that ultrasonic thing hits the gum and not the tooth my nails dig into my palm to divert my attention away from my discomfort.

And the dentist said it would feel good afterwards.  It didn't.  My teeth felt scratchy and sharp and not good sharp.  

And because I don't know any better I have to trust that what the dentist is telling me is true.  In this case there was no work required but if had said "Five root canals needed to day Mrs Cardus" then I wouldn't have known whether he was right or not.  I'd have said "Er, OK" and gone along with it because that's what you do.

I posted that I felt "a little violated" after a dentist visit.  I seemed to be alone as nobody else felt the same way.  Just me?  Really?