swimming pools and ice packs...

i am coming out in the open and admitting it: i am afraid of the dentist. i blame this fear on my lack of learning how to properly dive of course, not because my husband comes home with awful and grotesque stories of improper dental hygiene.

i usually claim that i love going to the dentist. i even talk it up to other people, naturally to stir up more business for milana dds inc. but honestly i get sick to my stomach and have to concentrate on other things to get me through an appointment.

we, my own personal dentist and myself, have been keeping a close eye on a sensitive tooth with a receding gum line for some time now. watch it basically become more sensitive and alarmingly bigger. so i was convinced to see a periodontist (gum doc) and get an opinion on how to best fix this area. he recommended a gum graph, easy and practically painless. this was in june. i agreed to the surgery, but put off setting a date. i was going on vacation, my sisters were visiting, i have to run a half marathon, parents visiting, thanksgiving? etc. then i had my six month cleaning appointment and i was actually shocked to learn that the space was getting bigger and that it might be impossible to fix at all now. this may have been a scare tactic...but it obviously worked. that was last thursday, and today i had my surgery.

although matt said that he would accompany me on this frightful visit, i made the appointment while he was with a patient of his own. unfortunately for me i had to fight this battle alone. i got to the office three minutes prior, just so that i wouldn't have to be there any longer than i needed to...also to give the dentist a chance to suddenly not be able to do it today. not my luck though. a very calming assistant took me back to the chair, made me the most comfortable that she could, and answered all of my questions. the doc was cool and instantly reminded me that i didn't have to get this done. i told him i was nervous (as i am sure he could tell when he shook my sweaty palm) and also went over the procedure one more time. at this point i really couldn't back down, therefore i was numbed up and so began my fist clenching appointment.

they kept me on one of those finger pulse monitors and an automatic blood pressure cuff the whole time so i challenged myself to keep all numbers low. perhaps they were just doing their job, but after the third time of being asked in a concerned voice if i was doing okay i assumed the terror was showing on my face. i kept my eyes closed and tried not to listen to the scraping and ignored all the pressure. holy cow it was a lot of pressure!! thank goodness that my entire right side of my face was numb. needless to say everything went as it should have and i survived another visit to the dentist.

now i sit at home and am rotating ice packs every ten minutes. whatever that is supposed to do. my face is still so numb and i talk like i had a stroke. ice packs just make it more numb. my favorite new doc, well second favorite, gave me a special five hour numbing shot so that i could remember him and the experience all day long. well, maybe it was to relieve any upcoming pain...but i am sure it was the former.