So, my friends, I went through the worst thing ever today. I would have rather had to go through my entire divorce again than have to do this. Just the thought of this one thing puts me on edge to the point that I want to cry. I'm talking about going to the dentist... I know. I know. I'm an adult and I shouldn't be afraid of going to the dentist but I've had some really bad experiences before.
When I was a little girl going to the dentist was TORTURE! I remember having to get one of my teeth pulled at a young age so they could put in a spacer and that was before the braces. After the braces I ended up having my wisdom teeth pulled. After that I went to have a cavity filled and the dentist didn't numb me well enough. I was saying "OW." every few seconds and in tears. She rolled her eyes. "It doesn't hurt. Stop being a such a baby." To this day I can't believe she said that. It was beyond rude and SO unprofessional.
Today I got to my 1 o'clock appointment at 12:30 for two reasons. Number one is that's when Dad dropped me off because he had to get Mom her lunch. Number two is because I figured I would have some paperwork to do because I'm a new patient. I was so not going back to Western Dental. (Their stuff doesn't last.) I was locked out of the office until 5 minutes before my appointment. I filled out my paperwork and turned it in. Once I turned it in with my insurance card and ID, I stood there waiting for her to say she didn't need anything else. The receptionist looked up at me from behind her computer with a look that reminded me of a popular high school girl. "We're done..." she told me in a tone that more said. "Why are you still here?"
I went back to my seat and sat there... and sat... and sat...for almost an hour listing to her talk rudely to everyone that came in and everyone on the phone. Once she got a break I asked her how long it was going to be. She acted like I shouldn't even be talking to her. She said it was typical to have an hour waiting time that he always did a cleaning and all the work that day. I WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT. Something inside me froze. I really didn't want any more work than necessary. I told her that I was having extreme anxiety about even being there and she somewhat tried to reassure me that everything would be fine.
About an hour after my appointment time I got called into the back. I thought "Finally. Maybe I can make it through this." They took my X-rays and all that stuff then left me to wait for the dentist. I waited for a while then he came in and did his thing. He injected me with the first shot of Novocaine and left me to wait.... and wait.... and wait.... During this waiting time I ended up having a major anxiety attack and started crying. The girls were nice and tried to comfort me.
By the time he returned I was already starting to lose the numb. He got to work and it hurt. He gave me another shot. It still hurt so he got a different kind of numbing agent. That worked! All the way up to my top eyelid was numb. He finished and one of the assistants cleaned my teeth and I was all done. I nearly ran out of the building and got into my dad's truck. "Get me out of here!"
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