The Fear of Dentists

I have to go to the dentist today for a teeth cleaning. I think people are 50/50 on whether they like going to the dentist or not. I used to be in the dread category. But lucky for me I have had really good teeth as an adult. It wasn't always the case.

When I was five years old, a family friend was our dentist. I guess that is good. My first tooth fell out (I was a late tooth loser) and the new one came in. With a CAVITY already in it. Who gets a permanent tooth with a cavity? I hadn't even had a chance to eat candy and not brush my teeth for weeks to get to that point. So I had to get a filling. Now back in the early 70's this wasn't quite the easy procedure that it is now. And a front tooth to a frightened five year old makes it more complicated. They didn't make compounds that the dentist could color to match your tooth. So you were left with mismatched color in an odd shape. Needless to say I wasn't happy. And then I had to get it changed out after about ten years because it had yellowed to the point of disgusting.

So the downfall of all of this was that I was afraid to go to the dentist. I had to have laughing gas just to get my teeth cleaned. Even as an adult. I had dental insurance and still wouldn't get my teeth cleaned. But I finally sucked it up and went. And you know what, I could make it through a cleaning without the gas. The chair arms probably didn't recover from the first two times from my grip, but I did it.  And now I can go without any problems and get my teeth cleaned.

I even got my front tooth filling changed out a couple of years ago and it now matches my teeth pretty well. So I feel like I've conquered my fear of the dentist.

Of course just ask me if I ever have to have a root canal and then I'll be back to being a fraidy cat.