The dentist is not my favorite of the medical professions. I find hospitals fascinating, as long as I’m not the patient. I don’t really like making doctor’s appointments, but once I’m there I’m fine. But as soon as I sit in a dentists chair I can feel my pulse rate increase, my blood pressure goes up, and I have to really concentrate on not clenching my hands together the whole time I’m there.

Last fall I had a cavity in one of my wisdom teeth. Yes, I still had all my wisdom teeth. Along with this cavity I had pain in my jaw down the front to the center line. I figured it was the cavity. When I went to the dentist they figured they could fix it rather than pull it. They fixed and filled the cavity, but the throbbing in my jaw only subsided somewhat. I decided it was just extra sensitive.

Monday morning I bit into my breakfast and realized everything was not OK. The throbbing increased and the pain in the tooth was back with a vengeance. As the day went on it came and went, but by late afternoon I knew I couldn’t deal with it long-term so I looked up dental clinics that did walk-ins. I found one in Wasilla, Same Day Dental, but they, along with all the other clinics, were closed already.

Early Tuesday morning my son drove me in to Same Day Dental. I was the first person in that morning, so service was really quick. The dentist did an x-ray and quick exam followed by some questions. He determined that my tooth was in fact infected, and possibly some of the area around the tooth, that was why I had the pain in my jaw for the last 8 or so months. We discussed options and determined it would be best to remove the tooth.

I have had my mouth numbed on several occasion and it has always been an unpleasant zing even after the topical deadening, as most of the dentists have hit the nerve. This time was completely comfortable, which helped calm my nerves. It took longer to get me numb than it did to pull the tooth. It was probably the most pleasant dental visit I’ve had in a long time.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing as I was instructed to do no heavy lifting or jarring activities, so I finished a couple of paintings. Today I am feeling much better. When it comes to food I am a texture person (I like crunch), so only being able to eat yogurt, pudding, and really soft pasta has been really weird, but it’s only for a couple days.

Do you love going to the doctor/dentist? What are some things you do to help calm your nerves?