The only way around it is through it

Yesterday after work I had my dental appointment.  It's safe to say I wasn't exactly doing cartwheels at the thought.  It had been almost six years since I'd been to a dentist, and that's not necessarily by choice (blame, instead, an ambiguous insurance plan).  I was there ahead of time and ready for the worst.  Fortunately, the dentist is a guy about my age who's low-key, with a good sense of humor.  Better still, his office is right next to a submarine sandwich shop, and the aroma of baking bread is all through the office.  If that won't soothe me, nothing will.

It's interesting to note what's changed the last six years.  I'd been through an ultrasonic cleaning before, so that didn't surprise me.  (I was, however, surprised that the dentist didn't need to use a jackhammer and demolition charges to clean my teeth.)  What was new to me, though, was the way bitewing X-rays are done now.  Gone are the little shards of film I hated.  The evil-looking X-ray gun remains, but now the images are digitally processed, and it was cool to look at those on the screen overhead.  A cleaning and a polishing later, things are better. 

Well, almost.  The doc comes in and spends a few minutes poking around in there with his dental explorer, and I find out the carnage of the last few years.  There's four starter cavities that need attention, and there's also a tooth I somehow damaged, and it's missing a little chunk.  That would explain the occasional little dull aches near the back of my mouth.  Mercifully, it's over soon (and I mean soon; this guy is quick).  The doc says he can extract the affected wisdom teeth, or he can repair them.  I opt for the latter. I get the option of splitting the work up over a couple visits, or doing it all at once.  Nope, if I'm going to be numb and getting drilled and filled, let's do it all at once.  So in about a month, I go back for a dental marathon.  Am I looking forward to it?  Nope.  But, to be honest, I was looking at anything short of a root canal as a victory.  It'll be good to have these little stray aches and pains dealt with, too.