Karma

So I have sorely neglected my teeth for the past few years. Not that I don't brush, floss, and rinse twice a day, I do. I just have been very very very bad about scheduling, you know, an actual dentist appointment. I finally scheduled one (yes, I have been in Durham for 2 years) and my teeth got cleaned and I had x-rays taken and uh-oh...cavities. So I ventured back to the dentist today for 4, yes FOUR, fillings all on my left side. I was being punished for not going to the dentist for 3 years. It was hard to find someone to replace Dr. Cavicchio. In the most basic terms, she rocks. Previous to going to her, I didn't really have great experiences with dentists. I still remember my first dentist from when I was a child. I must have been 6 or 7 and after he cleaned my teeth, he called my mother in and said one of my teeth needed to be pulled. I had never had a tooth pulled before and I saw the novocaine needle and I freaked out. I started sobbing hysterically. Now, this was a pediatric dentist so you would think he would have had the skills to calm me down and make me more comfortable about the procedure. Oh no. He yelled at me. He told me to knock it off and that we needed to get moving. Needless to say, after that visit we never saw that dentist again.

My new dentist is great. He did a great job with my initial exam and talking to me about what problems currently existed with my teeth. We had a lovely chat about the adult teeth that I never had (and the reason I had braces - we needed to close the gaps after the baby teeth were gone). Oh, and did I mention he is gorgeous. Yes, my dentist is a doll. If you asked me to describe a sweet Southern boy, I would describe him. He's young (only out of school a few years, but he is part of a well established practice in the area) but very nice, no yelling or anything. As we went step by step through everything this afternoon and he shot my mouth full of novocaine, he constantly asked if everything was okay, was I in pain, and updating me on what he was doing. For having to get four cavities filled, having him do it was not a problem.