Dear dentist hater, I think that your real problem was with your orthodontist. You were correct in saying that for those that only had to go in for an annual cleaning, the dentist is not a horror destination.
I love going to the dentist. I love that fresh clean feeling. It may be weird, but I love the feeling of the hygienist scraping the plaque off of my lower teeth. I was always fascinated by the sucking power of that little tool.
Their spinning, round toothbrush is unlike any other. It polished those teeth up so nice and smooth. Whenever I leave the dentist office I just keep running my tongue over my teeth to feel their smoothness.
Perhaps my favorite thing about the dentist office is the little sink next to your chair. When I was little and the dentist or hygienist would leave me alone in the room, I would press the button to make the bowl fill with water. A rush went through me when I pushed the button because I wanted the water to be gone before the adult came back. I did not want to be caught.
On my last visit to the dentist, I told that hygienist what I used to do and she replied with, “Oh, we know that all the little kids do that.”
Sure, maybe I love the dentist because I never had any cavities that needed to be drilled or filled, but that does not mean that I had good teeth. My teeth were horrible. They looked like a bad ear of corn. The gap in between my two front teeth was so big that I could fit pretzel rod in the gap.
When I comes to the orthodontist, I had it all. I had a palate expander beginning at the age of nine. Then I had braces for four long years. In the meantime, I had to get all four of my canine teeth pulled out. It took two years for the adult canines to grow in. I still have the laughing gas mask that they used at the dentist that day. It smells like strawberries. Yum. I also kept my teeth.
Thankfully, my teeth turned out great. They are pretty big actually, but at least they are all in a straight line now. That is not to say that I do not get reprimanded for not flossing enough. At the end of the day, the dentist is just looking out for my health.
I am excited for winter break, not only because we will have time off from school but also because I have a dentist appointment!
PHOTO TAKEN by Nicole Riddle
