Boredom at the dentist

Well, I've written about anxiety on a dental chair but not about boredom. See, when the local anesthesia kicks in, your mouth and gums go numb. So you don't feel anything. They put a bracket of some sort to keep your mouth open so even that is not a conscious effort.

So what to do? I tried staring at the doctor's eyelashes. Nice lashes. Revlon or Almay? Hihihi. I bet she saw me and smiled underneath her mask. But there's a limit to that. I can't stare at her eyes the entire time, not that I was trying to hide it. Besides, it's not proper to stare.

So your eyes drift to the ceiling, then the wall and you've memorized the few lines on the posters. There's got to be something more to do. Then you start thinking about work, but that only frustrates you a bit coz you'd rather you had something to write with because eventually, you'll forget all these bright ideas. So I tried not to think about work.

I tried singing songs in my head. I even tried to sleep. No luck there.

Anyway, I really marvel at the way the dentist attempts to engage you in a conversation while you're on the chair. It's not a matter of answering yes or no questions. It goes deeper than that. You try to answer back and realize after a second that you actually can't answer back. Hmm. That's probably what they call a trick question.

And the worst part of it? It's when the anesthesia wears out and she's still working on you. Previously, she asked you to raise a finger when you feel pain. I raised both hands.

Tooth extraction

Last Monday, I went to Jefferson Dental Clinic here in Dallas for a scheduled tooth extraction and a couple of fillings. I spent about 3 hours there. Phew. Talk about anxiety and boredom. Anxiety because I know that somehow there will be pain involved, and I always tense up when I see instruments coming into my mouth. So yeah, the dentist will say, "You'll feel a little pinch, ok?" I know that she doesn't exactly expect me to answer that... yet in my mind I can't help but. "No! It's not ok! Get me out of here!" Truth be told, I was terrified to death.

And now that it's over, I had every right to be. For the past 3 days, I've been sporting a brand new look. Ok, an exaggeration maybe, for no one can actually see the "new look." But there it is, I can feel it everyday... a gaping hole in the middle of numbers 19 and 17. Ugh, disgusting if you ask me. It hasn't exactly healed yet, or maybe I just don't know what to expect. I really don't know.

So now, I've been presented with options on how to deal with the hole. A bridge is not possible, according to the dentist, as the molar that would eventually support the bridge is tilted and not fully erupted. She suggested checking with an orthodontist on how I can fix that. So the options are: dentures or another tooth extraction.

Dentures is strongly recommended. I should not have problems with it, if and when I decide to go that route. Except that I do have problems with dentures per se. I don't like them. I always associated them with old people. Yeah yeah, that only means I'm old too. But the thing is, I don't want to be old and I will fight it as long as I can.

Now the other option has to do with the side effect of having a hole in between the teeth. The teeth naturally shifts to fill in the gap. So I can expect that my molar and other teeth will slide side ways. Not only that, the tooth on top of it will slide down, trying to fill the same gap. No, I've been told, it won't happen overnight. But it will happen.

And now that I'm writing it down, it does seem like I do not have any good options here. There's only one thing to do. Expect that it will involve a glass partly filled with water and something in it during the nightime.