To brighten the day

 

To brighten the day

Off to the dentist again today. I seem to have spent a good deal of time there this year, The porcelain crown was fitted a few weeks ago– almost hammered into place, I felt – but today’s appointments were for the dentist and the hygienist.

I leave the dentist feeling somewhat chastened – my mouth is not as sparkling as it should be, would be if I paid more attention to the tooth-scrubbing ritual. Vishal is far too polite to say that, of course, but the criticism is implicit as he tells his dental nurse what to type into my record.

On the other hand, Emily, the hygienist, is positively complimentary as she sets to. She’s young and patient and charming, which is just as well as I now have to see her every four months instead of six, to increase the dental servicing.

It was bitterly cold this morning, a heavy frost battling with extremely bright sunshine in an azure sky. Outside the dental practice is a magnificent display of geraniums (actually pelargoniums) which must be very sheltered as they are still flaunting a dazzling spectacle.

The photographs, taken hastily with my iPhone, do not do them justice. They provide a wonderful welcome and a tender farewell to all who visit.

 

Appointments

 

Appointments

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

We had a couple of days of appointments this week. On Monday, Barry had his nose examined again. Apparently, there’s still ‘something’ there, despite it all having been excavated for the second time three months ago. Now, he’s got to anoint his schnozzle three times a week with a cream, and then go back to talk about dogs’ diets in another three months.

Whatever he does, and whoever he sees, Barry opens up all sorts of conversations with people. Debbie, the nose consultant/plastic surgeon, has a twelve-week-old Golden Retriever puppy, and they were discussing its dietary requirements.

 On other occasions, he will be discussing the First World War (a particular interest of his) photography, space exploration, the origins of the Internet, and a myriad other things that fascinate him. By contrast, I am quite tight-lipped, and discuss only the things for which my appointments are made. Barry is a talker, and I am a listener, so our partnership works well. To be fair, he also listens extremely carefully, and retains information like a sponge.

Yesterday, he had appointments with the hygienist and the dentist, and today it was my turn. I found that the gap created by the extraction of my molar had affected my speech – one less surface for my tongue to strike against. I am accustomed to it now and no-one else has commented that my speech is less clear than it ever was. Anyway, Vishal explained the options, but he’s going to be a little disappointed in me, since I’ve thought about it again and decided to do without an implant, bridge, or denture. If I were still talking for a living, I might think differently about it, but I’m not, so I won’t.

Then I saw the hygienist, a lovely young woman who is always very encouraging. She chatters the whole time she’s working, but she’s not attempting to have a conversation. She seems to be telling herself what she has to do next. It’s really pleasant listening to her as she almost sings her instructions to herself above the noise of whichever tool she’s using.

So, that was the excitement for today.

We were promised rain. We had a small amount during the night – about one millimetre. There was thunder and a short downpour when Barry was out with the dogs, but that was it. The sun is shining in a watery sort of way.

No doubt, when the forecast rain does fall in earnest, it will be a deluge of Biblical proportions. 

Open wide!

Open wide!

Comfortable chair in the waiting room

Part of my tooth disintegrated on Saturday. I couldn’t believe it, although, since I have been remiss for many reasons in visiting my dentist, I should not have been so surprised. It didn’t hurt, though the broken edge was making my tongue sore. You know how you can never resist revisiting something different in your mouth.

Anyway, on Monday I made an appointment for Wednesday afternoon. The receptionist said, rather reprovingly I felt, ‘We haven’t seen you for some time,’ which made me feel like a naughty school girl. This morning, she ‘phoned to say that Vishal, my very pleasant dentist, was ill and would I mind seeing Charlotte instead. As the appointment would now be in the morning, I readily agreed. I hate spending an entire day waiting for things of that nature and trotted along – well, drove, actually – in good time. At the moment, one can never be sure which road will have been shut off with temporary traffic lights and/or diversions, so I left twice as long as I would normally need.

                                                                                                         Large Yucca

I arrived early. The waiting room was empty. The time for my appointment came and went. The receptionists were busy on the telephones, arranging and rearranging appointments. I learnt that Neena, Vishal’s wife, would not be working today as she had an emergency. Maybe Vishal was the emergency! I hope not.     

Eventually, Charlotte came to introduce herself and we proceeded to the surgery. I think Charlotte was more anxious about me being apprehensive than I was and kept checking that I was okay. She explained everything she was going to do and away we went. Insofar as any dental appointment can be enjoyable, I was most appreciative of Charlotte’s approach and thanked her for her care and attention.

So now I have a complete molar again, albeit mostly filling, and I have made an appointment for a check-up with Vishal at the beginning of April. I will soon be back in the routine again.

Mother-in-law's tongue

Vishal and his associates have gone a long way to helping me overcome my fear of dentistry and for that I am grateful.                                   

  

The occasional table in the waiting room had a selection of magazines, but I was amused to spot a Bible on a lower shelf.