At the Dentist

In a good year, I visit my dentist twice as insurance stipulated - not more because I don't want to pay out of pocket for perfectly good teeth. But not less than twice either - because I just love the feeling of a clean mouth after the hygeinist has cleaned it for 40 minutes and want to do it as often as possible. So, I do it twice and don't have to pay a penny. Why can't other insurance be like dental - why do we still have to pay co-pay to visit a doctor esp. for those of us who go just once a year?
When I visit my dentist, I actually see the hygeinist who thoroughly cleans my teeth - one tooth at a time and really knows my mouth - more than anybody in the world. Who else peers into it and looks at every nook and crany? Every pit and molar, every stain and plaque? She starts out by looking and feeling inside the mouth for cancer. When that is over, she says, " Looking good - no suspicious signs, I see you have been flossing. Good". And then she proceeds to do the scaling - one tooth at a time. Meanwhile I am lying horizontal on a massage chair that more often than not - manages to annoy me instead of giving me pleasure - which is the sole purpose of a massage chair, in my opinion. I end up feeling itchy and finally asking her to turn it off.

As she scales each tooth, although I don't feel any discomfort, the sound of the scalar against my enamel seem harsh and I often think that all this might be weakening my teeth - especially when she works particularly hard at some stubborn stain or plaque. I really can't see plaque as I think I brush well and don't really see the tell-tale discoloration. But sometimes, it sounds like she is really fighting with something as she scales and switches the equipment. As much as I love to get my teeth cleaned, I am not sure that it is a necessary health science and more like common sense taken to extreme. So, while she is busy cleaning my teeth, I am thinking - " Is this medicine or indulgence - like facials".

After, scaling, she takes floss and flosses every tooth - more gently than I do it myself. I have learnt to floss regularly as I found out that if I stopped flossing, she will know when I go for my next cleaning anyway. It happened to me once - I got tired of flossing - thinking it was not really necessary anyway and stopped flossing everyday - instead doing it only when I eat something fibrous or when I get something stuck between my teeth. However, when I went for my next appointment, she noticed the difference. I asked her how she knew and she said, not flossing shows up in the shape of the gums between the teeth - it changes the look so that instead of your regular peak, the profile changes and looks more rounded.After that, I do it once everyday - that is apparently enough as she could not detect the above mentioned shape change.

The best part of cleaning is when she polishes the teeth. It is like an ultra gentle sander for teeth - even saying that make me feel that I am being harsh. But the effect is that it makes you feel very clean and of course, the fact that she uses some flavorful toothpaste enhances the effect. Then, you rinse and have a happy clean mouth.
After all the work is done, the dentist comes over for five minutes, looks into my mouth, probes a few teeth here and there and his work is done. I get a free toothbrush and a small disc of floss and I go back to work. I had not eaten lunch but I postpone the eating as I feel that my mouth was to darn clean to soil it with food.