Pandora's Box

Is it just a San Francisco yuppy thing or are all dentists moving along with the wave of the future as well? So I went to my dentist the other day and she had this little tiny James-Bond-esque camera that she put into my mouth, photographing any abnormalities (receding gum, cavity, chipped tooth) and then showed me these huge images on her computer screen of what my messed up teeth looked like. Now, if you look at my teeth from even within a foot of my face, you'd say I have nice enough teeth. (I certainly should after four years of orthodontia). But if you blow up some of my individual teeth onto a large tv monitor, you might scream in terror (or silently gasp, as I did). I have to say, this new technology is great for motivation. After seeing these horrorifying images, I have followed my dentist's teeth regimen very strictly (brush every am and use Listerine to fight gum disease, brush and floss every pm and use Listerine). In addition, I've been so overly zealous that I now brush after meals while at work as well. At my job, I'm lucky if I can make time to pee, so stopping long enough to brush my teeth is a rather big ordeal under the circumstances.

But now the other perk to this new "yuppified" dental experience, is that my dentist has one of those massage chairs in her office. So when I went in to have my cavity filled, the dental hygienist sat me in this amazing chair. I felt like I was seriously getting a massage. I told C she has to go to my dentist just so she can try out that chair! My dentist was also amazing about slowly putting that novacaine shot in - I never felt it. So with that massage chair added to the scenario and the fact that there was nothing unpleasant about the experience of having a cavity filled, it's a good thing that she has that little camera. Because I'd say that I actually enjoyed going in and having her fill my cavity. If I hadn't been traumatized by the images I saw of my teeth, I might actually look forward to making more cavities!