E. Goes To The Dentist

So after my last (major) debacle, and being charged for an appointment that I canceled (also an appointment I was assured would be covered by insurance - good thing I didn't show up) I decided to switch dentists. Jensational sent a nice reco - but out of my way and a little too LA-good-looking-people on the webpage for me. I decided to go with MB's & M's local guy. When I discovered that it was situated across the street from my favorite German watering hole that kindof sealed the deal. "Say no more! That's so comforting to know," I chirped to the assistant. Again, this might be TMI for those of you who find this stuff repellent.

Ok so I know a few things about myself - I'm not a good flosser and I usually tumble into bed at night with a shirt on that I've worn all day. Hence, I'm not doing everything right. But I grew up being aware of the perils of bad dental hygiene and regularly take myself for cleanings. After wearing braces its hard to take teeth lightly. The office was nice, the receptionist perfectly lovely and unhurried, and the hygienist seemed calm and assuring. The problem is, when going to a new office they ask too many questions. Also, they have to get acquainted with your mouth, so to speak, and I had to undergo that procedure where they stick a metal probe into your gums and measure how far it is until they hit the bone. That smarted. And because I don't floss and have some errant wisdom teeth that I refused to get pulled it was a messy afternoon. MB had said the dentist was like a blonde Bill Murray, that he was funny and handsome. Yeah, he was Ok. But he didn't bother to introduce himself, which I found strange. And they kept saying things like, "whether you have the procedure done here or somewhere else..." as if I was some sort of dental office whore. Are there people like this? Who sees a new dentist every time? Are they suspicious because I did not send my previous x-rays ahead?

I'm Ok at the end of the day. Because of their conclusions I might be skeptical of whether my previous scaling and bone grating (or whatever its called) procedure was necessary. (Sidenote: another reason why I left the previous dentist was because that particular hygienist was so enraptured by the conversation in the hallway that she was actually sticking objects up under my gums while looking out into the hall. I don't care how good you are, just give me the comfort of knowing that you're watching what you're doing.) Total damage learned after cleaning: I have to take better care of my gums but my bone structure is fine. I have a cavity on my upper wisdom tooth so I might as well have them both extracted. I have a cracked filling on an upper molar (a silver filling probably dating back to gradeschool). I could use some frontal fillings (mostly cosmetic but we won't tell the insurance co that). Not too shabby.

But this all leads up to my Walgreen's purchase as soon as I got out. They suggested I use an electric toothbrush to further stimulate and clean around the gumline. It was charging all night so I used it today. And well. WOW. I have never had this sensation in my mouth. (I won't get into what it reminded me of.) Now, how the heck does this thing work? Do I brush as if I'm using a regular toothbrush? I know she told me, but she also told me a  lot of other things at a time when I was not apt to be taking mental notes (I...taste...blood). She mentioned just a back and forth stroke but it hardly feels like I could be cleaning my teeth by running a vibrating thing over my teeth. The instructions say to use circular motions, as you would with a regular toothbrush. But I never used a circular motion in my life. How to do?

What is kindof cool is that it times itself to two minutes and gives a little bleat about 30 seconds before it stops. Am entering a new world here but I feel like I need some guidance. This is E staring into the bathroom mirror, eyes wide, mouth agape with strange device floating around it, thinking, "what is happening in my mouth?"

E.

p.s. also, is it creepy that I would prefer someone else to floss my teeth? Do rich people do this or should a marry a hygienist who needs lots of practice?

Comments

[Jensational]

I hate flossing. I refuse to floss. It feels gross and awkward. Even though I worked with dentists and know how important it is I just don't do it which means that every visit when they poke my gums with that pointy thing I bleed a lot.

With electric toothbrushes I know that sonic brushes are good because they'll shut off if you're pushing too hard and they shut off after the required 3 minutes of brushing.

I've never used an electric one. My gums are so tender I need to buy kiddie toothbrushes.

[Dan]

My dentist told me to brush the teeth one at a time. One side, the top, then the other side of each tooth. If you'd gotten one earlier you might have kept your wisdom teeth (major cause of them rotting is that you can't brush them properly with a regular brush)
Oh, and don't miss out on watching TV, or indeed a nice bright LED, while brushing. Wobbly wobbly!

[Brendon Spaziani]

I bought a brush like this one and I'm using it every day. I love how my teeth feel smooth and smell good after I brush! Sometimes, it feels like my teeth stay clean even after I eat a whole lot of food! LOL!