Monday, April 5, 2010

A Dental Trip Back in Time

I went to a new dentist today. I was amazed at how many doo dads and gadgets they used to inspect my teeth. I sure hope my dental plan pays for all those cool toys and not my pocket book. Good news? No cavities. Weird news? Towards the end of the exam, the dentist asked me if I'd ever had surgery on my face. No, I answered, but joked that I wouldn't mind some plastic surgery. "Really?" they asked. They didn't seem convinced that my face was surgery free. At this point, I started imagining alien probes, etc. (Ha, ha.) Then they showed me this x-ray.
See the little white thing? Looks like the tip of a plastic fork? I earned that shrapnel when I had my wisdom teeth removed during college spring break. I went to my regular dentist who removed all my wisdom teeth while I was awake. He kept commenting, "You have a small mouth." And while he extracted my fourth tooth, a tip of the instrument broke off in my gum. (Ironically, I was sent to an oral surgeon who couldn't do anything for me because my mouth was so swollen.) I just assumed I had swallowed the tip all those years ago and had maxed out my iron quota that month.

Luckily, I've never set off any airport x-rays. And there is no pain associated with it. Crazy.

Another crazy thing? The dentist suggested I get braces! Or, at least one for my bottom teeth. They used to be real tight (again, small mouth) but the wisdom teeth extraction helped them be better neighbors. There really is no need for the braces unless I become a bottom tooth model. Just for chuckles and grins, I asked them to come up with an estimate for the braces - more than $3,000. Nuts.

I do like the new dental place. It feels like a spa. Free bottled water, coffee, etc. Very posh. And I have a female dentist for the first time. Very cool.

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