Other Kinds of Self-Care

So, why not make big changes all at once, eh?

Let's talk a little bit about dental care, shall we?

I have been seeing the same dentist since I was 5. Almost.

What I mean by that is that when I was about 20 and in college, I was all, "NO WAY AM I TRAVELING 40 MINUTES TO SEE MY DENTIST ANYMORE. I'm finding a new one."

And then I had what I like to term a Traumatic Dental Experience. It was the first time I have ever walked out of an appointment. Just the way this new dentist took x-rays made my mouth bleed. He came at me with those hooky things that scrape your teeth and before he could even get his hand any closer to my mouth with it, I was up and out of the chair, said thank you but no thank you, and then left.

Then I didn't visit a dentist for 10 years.

In my defense, I took really good care of my teeth during that time. Also, I was terrified. Moreover, I didn't have dental insurance this entire time. NO WAY was I going to spend 100 dollars to get my teeth cleaned, especially when I was broke at the time.

So, when I was 30, I went back to my original dentist. I had to have some scaling done (where they numb your mouth and then just scrape the shit out of your teeth harder than a normal cleaning), and I had five cavities. BUT, four of them were in my wisdom teeth, so I technically only had one. I was told that wisdom teeth, because they are so far back, grow in decayed.

Fine by me! So, I got five fillings (with no intention of getting my wisdom teeth pulled at that time) and went on my merry way, and got cleanings every six months like a good little dental patient. I had been thinking about getting my teeth straightened for quite some time, but never fully pulled the trigger on it. We could never quite afford it, even though there was a time that Rob's insurance covered a pretty big chunk of it. I was in grad school at the time, so I couldn't justify it.

Fast forward to getting my wisdom  teeth out. While that was by no means a Traumatic Dental Experience (the procedure itself bordered on pleasant! But then again I was also pretty high), the aftermath was enough for me to be like "NO ONE IS TOUCHING MY MOUTH FOR A WHILE."

Fast forward to this year. We can finally afford it, I've been saving, and I want to get my teeth straightened. My dentist does invisalign. PERFECT. So, I go back for a cleaning after three years off, and I have another cavity! This man knows me so well that he gasped and was like "RYAN! THIS IS SO NOT LIKE YOU!"

I know, doc. I know.

To make a rather short story long, I got all of the molds and embarrassing/hilarious pictures of my mouth taken and all that good stuff to start invisalign in about a month, I'm guessing. I also got my cavity filled, but that's neither here nor there.

Although, I find myself having to ask - why would anyone, ever, turn down novocaine for a dental procedure? I mean, sure, it's expensive if insurance didn't cover it, so I get that some people might not want or be able to to spend the money. BUT STILL.  I'm telling you, even if I don't have dental insurance and I need something that has novocaine as an option, I'M GETTING NOVOCAINE.

REGARDLESS. If I can get my teeth straightened using invisalign, great. My dentist is super hopeful that it's going to happen that way because I don't have an overbite. If not, then I'll be a brace-face for a little while. This is something I've wanted to do for a long time, and I'm really excited that it's finally happening.

Stay tuned! :D