Is It Safe?

I had a Marathon Man experience this morning. Don't let the dentist trick you into thinking that having a tooth filled is any different or less uncomfortable than it was when you were a kid. The last time I had a tooth filled was about 30 years ago. Now I am getting to the age where the fillings I got as a child need to be redone. The hygenist assured me that "it's so much faster now" and "hardly uncomfortable" at all.

My dentist is a sweetheart, although when I mentioned Dustin Hoffman and Marathon Man, she laughed maniacally. They have a new thing now called a dental dam (new to me at least) which they said would prevent bacteria and "burned tooth" from going to the back of my throat. I warned them that I had a bad gag reflex (so bad that every place I work, I am known for being a gagger – and it must be genetic, because my mother was a gagger as well), but they laughed heartily and put it in anyway. They started drilling and I started gagging and almost threw up. I was so embarrassed, but they took the dam out (and went to the lobby to add a "difficult patient fee" to my bill) and continued the torture, uh I mean the dental work.

They didn't numb me enough and I felt when the drill went into my nerve I had to pinch my upper thigh so I wouldn't scream and leap out of the chair. It was a horrible experience, but I realized that I had not had a drill in my mouth for nearly 30 years, so I should consider myself lucky.