I Suck At The Dentist

This morning, I had my semi-annual dental appointment for a cleaning. Now, I suck at the dentist.

I don't know about other dentists, but I am amazed at how much stuff the dental staff remembers about me. I find it simply remarkable that they can remember so much detail about me considering that I only show up twice a year. I sometimes wonder if they make notes in my chart or something when I leave. Either that or my house is bugged. (Damn you, Patriot Act!)

Anyway, the appointment was good. In addition to a cleaning, my dental hygienist (Joan) took x-rays of my teeth. Apparently, these x-rays (known as panoramic x-rays) show the full root and should be taken about every five years. The last time I had those type of x-rays done was nine years ago in 2001.

In case anyone is curious, I have had other types of x-rays since 2001. Those x-rays are known as bitewing x-rays (which are taken about every two years) and are used to check decay, bone loss, etc. I know it sounds silly, but I never knew there were different types of x-rays at the dental office. I just assumed an x-ray was an x-ray. It never occurred to me that there were differences.

Aside from learning about dental x-rays, I also learned from Joan that children should probably start going to the dentist around the age of 3 or so. The reason is not necessarily for cleaning and such, but more for getting children familiar with a dentist and other people probing inside their mouths. Plus, they can better tell if children have actually been brushing their teeth and whatnot.

And proof that I am a clueless parent, I also learned that parents should be cleaning their child's teeth (or gums) with water (with fluoride) up until the child is able to brush his or her teeth to remove bacteria. That never donned on me either. Apparently my baby daughter (Briana) is going to be a mess growing up. She's going to be "the experiment"... probably now with messed up teeth.

Anyway, Joan is a wealth of knowledge. Oh, and apparently parents should never share spoons or clean pacifiers with their own mouths... due to bacteria reasons.

Needless to say, I had an interesting time at the dentist. It was nice to learn about all those things. Plus, it's always a good visit when you find out that you have no cavities... which I don't. Yay!

Although the one piece of bad news that I did receive at the dentist's was that gummy bears (or gummy candy in general) are bad for your teeth. In addition to being candy, gummy bears are bad due to its gummy consistency. That was very disheartening to learn since I absolutely love gummy bears. Oh well.