And people wonder why some of us have dental phobias?
Of all of the medical professions out there, dentists personally scare me the most. I’ve had NUMEROUS scary encounters with dentists and have a huge problem with even getting a cleaning.
My personal favorite was when a dentist told me as a 12 year old that “you don’t really need novacaine for this filling, it’s so small you won’t really feel much at all,” and then proceeded to drill. I felt everything. He then yelled at me for flinching while I screamed.
Yeah...great guy. Yeah....pretty good phobia here of all things dental related.
I will never look at paper clips quite the same way again. If Obamacare ever goes into full effect, modern dentistry may give way to Truth Decay.
Frankly, I avoided dentists for many years (most of my 20s and 30s, actually). I was most fortunate that I started to go again when I did. And I was also lucky to get a good one - she is a sweet and very, very bright person, which does help. (and a Republican, I believe, like her much more famous sibling). I've only had a handful of cavities in my life (five, I think), and I have actually had three filled (or refilled) now without Novocain. It was not that bad. I'm not a Spartan, either. It depends how extensive and close to the nerve root the decay happens to be.
What I've learned is that the health of your gums is far more important, anyway. I brush and floss religiously now and have managed to reverse some of the damage I did by staying away all those years. But if you ever come across the film Marathon Man... you may want to pass.
My personal favorite was when a dentist told me as a 12 year old that “you don’t really need novacaine for this filling, it’s so small you won’t really feel much at all,” and then proceeded to drill. I felt everything. Same here. After I stopped shaking, I was allowed to pick out a small toy to take home. As if getting a Cracker Jack prize reject was any consolation.
I always suspected that my folks didn't want to pay extra for the Novocaine. They always denied it, but I remained suspicious.