Being the product of a mother whose profession is easily the most hated, I grew up hearing all sorts of excuses why people are over-due on a check-up, as if telling me would lighten the guilt of purposefully missed appointments. When the topic is brought up that my mother is a dentist, I get all sorts of horror stories that seem to be so unrealistic and greatly exaggerated. After spending a lot of my childhood in a dentist's office, I have seen many loopy patients stumbling out of the chair because their anxiety is so bad the only way they will even look at a dental clinic is if they are semi-sedated.
1. Shots are painful:
The most ironic and popular excuse: the numbing shot. If you are not going in for a regular check-up and getting a procedure, it's common that you will need to get a numbing shot. People say it’s painful, but in reality it feels like a tiny pinch, then nothing. Imagine if you did the whole procedure without the shot! Talk about painful!
2. Its expensive:
Make-up lasts a couple months, your teeth last a lifetime… Hopefully!
3. Not enough time:
So you have enough time to binge-watch the whole season of “Orange Is The New Black” as soon as it comes out on Netflix, but not enough for a forty-five minute check-up to ensure a pearly white smile?!
4. Hate having a numb mouth hours after the appointment:
Patients often complain about having a numb mouth for hours afterwards, giving them funny smiles and not being able to pronounce words properly. But again, imagine the procedure without the magical numbing shot!
5. Claustrophobia:
The thought of being in an operating room in a chair centered right smack in the middle, surrounded my sharp needles and mini-drills that you know will soon be near your sensitive gums and the only place to look is up at the ceiling that will soon be blocked by two faces uncomfortably close to yours.
6. Dreaded small talk:
Small talk is bad enough when you’re grocery shopping and run into your ex’s mother, but even worse at the dentist when you have hands and miscellaneous objects lodged in your mouth.
7. Noises:
The classic soundtrack to your everyday horror movie, with the loud-pitched screech of the drill featuring your poor teeth as the victims.
8. The fear of coughing:
Either you’re going to cough, or the professional extremely close to your mouth is… At least those scary masks have a purpose!
9. Stuck in the loop:
At the end of your appointment, you are so proud of yourself for not crying and making it out alive... only for the dentist to tell you that you need to schedule another appointment because they found another cavity, and you have to relive your nightmare again.
Sure, we can hate on dentists all we want, but generally teeth are the first thing people notice when they meet you. Your smile says a lot about you, so the fear and anxiety you get is all worth it afterwards when the person of your dreams approaches you and comments on your lovely smile.
