“I was never afraid of anything in the world except the dentist.”
Taylor Caldwell
I got up early to make sure I would get to my dentist appointment on time. That didn’t work out exactly. As I started out I looked at my gas gauge, almost empty. No problem I carry Gas. I stop down a side road, grab my gas can and pour it into my old van. I am on my way. I check the GPS its says I will arrive 15 minutes late. Yea that doesn’t work for me. Being late is a big sign of disrespect in my way of thinking. So I put my foot in it, nothing too drastic but enough to make up some time.
As I get a little closer I phoned ahead to let them know I was running behind. I arrived 7 minutes late. I immediately poured some coffee, I knew how to work the machine now. Amber remembers I like a little cold water in my coffee from my last visit and has a small paper cup waiting on the counter.
It is the little things that are big for me. Details that make my trip into the chair more comfortable. Thanks, Amber it was appreciated.
I am ushered into my chair by The Filipina I met on the first visit. I learn her name is Mara. We have a great conversation while she checks my BP which is normal now. I completely blame the staff for that. I feel very comfortable among them. Considering that they were about to stick needles in my mouth and grind away at my molar, it was a very nice change.
Soon Dr. Wang is wiping my mouth with Lidocaine or something similar, so I don’t feel the five-foot needles about to be pushed into my gums. Kidding, that is how I used to see them. I only felt a little pain once, it was really no big problem. The grinding started I got through all that. Eventually we got to the end and a final x-ray was taken by Candace. With a few goodbyes, a compliment about my writing from Dr. Wang I was gone.
Sorry to the staff and Dr. Wang, I pocketed the safety glasses supplied. I didn’t mean to. But I am sure after being covered in fluids from my mouth and bits of tooth and fillings, I was confident they wouldn’t be reused. I could use them for wood chopping. Feel free to bill me for those.
All in all, these people deserve praise for how they treated me. Never in my life did I ever want to come back to a dentist office, but here I did. I felt comfortable there. I was treated well. I wasn’t once scolded for being a bad person for not always flossing, not once was I belittled for forgetting to brush. The rest of the medical profession could learn a thing or two from this office. You can read about some of that here, about how I was mistreated by a few local doctors and nurses.
My faith in dentistry has been restored somewhat. Something I never thought possible. Read my Mar 6 post you will understand.
Walking in there made me think of Cheers. I was just waiting for someone to call me Norm. 😀 Thank you again, to all the staff.
sunset on my road
Btw the song below does not reflect my experience today, getting my root canal. As a matter of fact it was quite the opposite. This is how I used to see dentists.
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