Preventive services
My dentist, for whom I'd searched so long, up and moved to Florida to pursue orthodontia, so I figured I'd just go another ten years without an appointment. But the Smelmooo took matters into his own hands, and scheduled us both for check-ups last week with the guy who took over our old dentist's practice.
The Smelmooo went first, and on his way out of the chair, he promised me I'd like the new guy, in part because he's a big nerd, which is something I always appreciate. The Smelmooo told me to "check out his key ring," which did look suspiciously like the dentist moonlights as a high school janitor, but live and let live, I say.
I did like the new dentist: he praised my "enviable smile," gave me props for flossing (although in a little bit of back-handed way: "It looks like you even manage to floss once in a while," which is actually true -- I'm not so good about doing it every day), and advised me not to use tartar-control toothpaste, ever. I like rules, especially absolutes, so this was music to my ears. And he didn't make me get x-rays. So yay, New Dentist!
New Dentist also, apropos of nothing, told me that in all his years of seeing patients, the one thing he's learned is that the most important thing is not to take your loved ones for granted. I don't know about you, but when I'm in the chair with all those tools in my mouth, I'm not particularly inclined to talk about my personal relationships at any great length the way one might with a hairdresser, or, you know, a licensed therapist. Maybe it's primarly the patients who get sedated? I don't know; I could barely answer that yes, I had braces as a kid, never mind get into, "Oh, this relationship dissolved because I didn't feel appreciated."
But New Dentist has, apparently, heard it all, and he made it very clear that, whether it's with a spouse, a parent, a child or a friend, the most important thing is to make a conscious choice, every day, not to take that person or that relationship for granted.
And even though it was pretty random ("out of thin blue air," as I just told Minnams -- my brain is still partly on vacation), and an odd thing to hear from the dentist, it's sound advice. So I'm being, again, a perfect little patient, and passing it along.
The Smelmooo went first, and on his way out of the chair, he promised me I'd like the new guy, in part because he's a big nerd, which is something I always appreciate. The Smelmooo told me to "check out his key ring," which did look suspiciously like the dentist moonlights as a high school janitor, but live and let live, I say.
I did like the new dentist: he praised my "enviable smile," gave me props for flossing (although in a little bit of back-handed way: "It looks like you even manage to floss once in a while," which is actually true -- I'm not so good about doing it every day), and advised me not to use tartar-control toothpaste, ever. I like rules, especially absolutes, so this was music to my ears. And he didn't make me get x-rays. So yay, New Dentist!
New Dentist also, apropos of nothing, told me that in all his years of seeing patients, the one thing he's learned is that the most important thing is not to take your loved ones for granted. I don't know about you, but when I'm in the chair with all those tools in my mouth, I'm not particularly inclined to talk about my personal relationships at any great length the way one might with a hairdresser, or, you know, a licensed therapist. Maybe it's primarly the patients who get sedated? I don't know; I could barely answer that yes, I had braces as a kid, never mind get into, "Oh, this relationship dissolved because I didn't feel appreciated."
But New Dentist has, apparently, heard it all, and he made it very clear that, whether it's with a spouse, a parent, a child or a friend, the most important thing is to make a conscious choice, every day, not to take that person or that relationship for granted.
And even though it was pretty random ("out of thin blue air," as I just told Minnams -- my brain is still partly on vacation), and an odd thing to hear from the dentist, it's sound advice. So I'm being, again, a perfect little patient, and passing it along.
2 Comments:
Why can't (or shouldn't) You EVER use tartar control tooth paste?
By
seth, at 6:54 PM
I think it's not that no one should use it; it's that I have been a "moderately vigorous brusher," which makes my enamel a little bit less sturdy than it should be, and I guess the tartar control will accelerate any deterioration. So ask your dentist if it's right for you :)
By
tangentwoman, at 8:21 AM
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