Sick and Tired of The Dentist

I want one thing and one thing only.

I want to go to the dentist and leave there without my mouth hurting.

I want to leave the dentist without feeling like some mad man has tried to dig for oil in my gums.

I want to go home after the dentist and have some energy. Instead, I always feel like I have been fighting for my life and barely survived.

I don't think that is too much to ask. I'm pretty sure other people do it.

Actually, I was told that my latest visit to the dentist was going to painless and stress free. So, I was pretty calm when I arrived.

Then, they made me sign the form acknowledging the possible side effects of local anesthesia. ~~~~ WHAT?!~~~~ I calmly stated that I wasn't supposed to be doing anything other than making a mold of my toothless mouth. The very nice receptionist assured me that it was only a precaution. "Just in case," she said.

Hmmm....... 'Just in case, huh?'

(Did a little red flag just pop up over your head? Well, you can bet that there was one flying over my head at that very moment. I think I even heard it snap a time or two in the breeze from the air conditioner.)

I decided to be optimistic. It's a mold, only a mold. Right? That's what I kept saying. I needed to calm my beating, anxiety ridden heart.

It didn't work very well.

Later, as the doctor was looking at my mouth, specifically the implants, he says, "Hmm... Looks like some of your gum grew over two of the implants."

Another, bigger flag popped up. *SNAP!*

"We're just going to have to remove some of the gum from around the top of the implant. Shouldn't take but a minute."

*SNAP!* *SNAP!* Two more flags joined the others.

"Let my give you a little something to numb this up."

*SNAP!!!*

A really HUGE flag leaped up and started to beat me about the head.

'I will survive. This will be OK. It will be quick and I can go home ." Repeat

'I will survive. This will be OK. It will be quick and I can go home." Repeat

Well, you get the idea.

I survived. And the dentist was able to remove the cap or pin or whatever the thing is called that was screwed into the implant. Yea! Almost done!

Uh.... Not quite.

"There seems to be some tissue that has grown or was caught between the implant and the cap."

All the flags starting tap dancing on my head. I could hear them pounding in my ears and feel them in my chest. Boom, Boom, Boom.

Could this 'tissue' be why I was in so much pain for two weeks after the last procedure?

I wonder.

"We're going to have to remove that tissue before we can continue. Let me give a little more anesthesia."

The flags just fell over, defeated.

'Could you just knock me out, call my husband, and have him drive me home. Please? I'll make you some oatmeal raisin cookies. They're my specialty. Your a guy that looks like he likes cookies.'

'Nope? Well, I guess you want me to open wide then.'

After two hours, we finally got the mold all done and I could go home. These dentist visits are killing me. He, at least, gave me some pain meds. Which doesn't happen with the other dentist. However, he did tell me that I probably wouldn't need them and should wait to get the prescription filled.

Yeah, Right!