sunshine_queen: Tricia being fierce, as always. (Tricia- besties- sunshine_queen)
[personal profile] sunshine_queen
So, today I had to go to the dentist to get a filling. I should've known there'd be trouble when I made my appointment and they told me it was for 11 AM, and when they called to confirm they said 11:15.



(Note: I may be exaggerating a bit with the times, but I assure you that the arrival time and departure time are correct. Most of the rest are guesstimates.)

I arrive at the dentist office at 10:50. When I went there last week for a cleaning with my sister, we arrived, went in after about ten minutes, and we were out in literally an hour. It was amazing. As such, I assumed this office had its mierda together, and I made plans for 2:30, thinking that I would totally be done with my appointment.

It was pretty enjoyable, actually! I had the new Southern Vampire mystery (shut up) and the radio was playing awesome music, it wasn't too crowded, and no one was bothering me. At one point, some guy got irritated and told the receptionist he couldn't wait anymore- at that point I checked my watch and I was like, whoa, I have been here for almost an hour. (Cue my clever tweets: 'Anxiously waiting at dentist, and have been for fifty minutes. Torture!' and 'The radio is playing good music, and i like my book, but OMG Y'ALL ARE GOING TO KILL ME WITH ANXIETY. (I'm kind of scared of procedures.)')

I continue to read and check my twitter, until I get a phone call from my cousin, who was the one I'd made plans with at 2:30. I tell her honestly that who the hell knows if I'll make it- LOL I've been waiting for two hours! At this point I'm still pretty optimistic, but I get up to ask the receptionist what is up. After giving me a bit of an attitude, she acknowledges I have been waiting a ridiculously long time, and she goes back to check. When she returns, she says it'll be ten or fifteen more minutes.

It definitely wasn't, but whatever. About a half hour later, I get called back.

Now, in my experience, when they get you in the chair, it is showtime. Clearly they have time for me now! (This is after one, btw.) I hang out for about a half hour, and finally the dentist comes in and gives me the numbing shot, and I get to hang out for another fifteen minutes, when the dentist comes in and tells me someone needs to take their lunch break, so it will be another half hour and really, what could I do? I already had the numbing shot, which in my previous filling had been the worst part, so I wasn't going have that be for nought, so I just chilled out. I also texted my cousin to say we had to reschedule, for obvious reasons, and she told me I should be "FURIOUS!!!!!" (Apparently my cousin uses a lot of punctuation and caps when she texts? And she never writes out the word 'you'. Other words, yes, that one, no,)

FINALLY the dude comes back- this is about two thirty or so- and it looks like we're ready to go. They lower my chair so I'm practically laying down... and the dentist and his assistant start talking about Taboo, which, as far as I can tell, is like My Strange Addiction but only about sex. He starts talking about Steve Cat, who is that guy who has the latex sex dolls and to each his own, but know what I really don't want to hear my middle-aged dentist talking about? FETISHES. Because it didn't end with the sex dolls, it continued into people who dress like infants and people who love walls and cars and there I am! Just waiting for my fillings! And my two dudebro dentist people are guffawing and I'm mentally like CAN WE PLEASE JUST START MY PROCEDURE AND LAUGH ABOUT THIS DURING IT? But no. Ten awkward (for me) moments go by. (BTW, people with weird fetishes shouldn't breed, according to this guy. I was like 'what even is going on in my life?')

So! The procedure finally starts! And he lowers the implement to my tooth and- SEARING AGONIZING PAIN. This leads to the dentist and the assistant being all "dude, is this not working? did they reformulate it?" leaving me to believe that they're having trouble with this particular vial, or brand, or WHATEVER JUST STOP USING IT, and I have to get a second shot.

To get personal for a moment, I'm not wild about this kind of medication, because I react really weirdly to some things. Morphine makes me nauseous, and nerve blocks normally last literally four times longer than they last on normal people, so the idea of getting a second shot literally brought me to tears, but I beared it admirably until they left the room and then I cried a bit in frustration because it was almost freaking 3 PM and I had gotten there four hours ago and this shit was bananas.

My dentist returns after about twenty minutes, this time with a different assistant who is also his son, and they start talking about something that is also weird but I can't remember what it was, exactly. This time when the implement starts, it hurts but isn't unbearable until it actually is, and the dentist is like, ... seriously, I have no idea what more I can do for you, but I only have about two more seconds of this, so I nearly drew blood on my palms digging my nails in to stop from crying. Then they... did whatever fills a filling and cured it or whatever, and I was done.

The entire procedure took about eight minutes, WITH A MINUTE-LONG PAUSE WHILE I RECOVERED FROM MY SECOND BOUT OF PAIN. I finally got out at 3:30. It was awful. The only highlights were the sweet and encouraging tweets I got from my buddies on twitter, and the fact that I almost finished my book, which is awesome.

Other things that are awesome: MELISSA'S VISIT. We had the greatest time. We went to the beach two days in a row, and we went out for drinks and SNUGGLED and talked and Melissa even wound up going over to my uncle's house for his birthday so she met my entire family and it turned out to be one of the most excellent parties my family has even thrown and this all boils down to everything is better when my buddyroo is with me and I miss her 80% of the time. I say only 80% because I have to sleep sometimes.

Date: 2011-06-21 05:31 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] yahtzee63.livejournal.com
That is a seriously sucky dentist! Worse than Suit & Glasses. Glad sweet booze and the beach has healed you.

Would you be willing to check/finesse some French for me? Wolverine needs to speak French.

Date: 2011-06-21 05:44 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sunshine-queen.livejournal.com
One of my twitter friends, upon hearing of my release, was like, 'Oh good! I can use my crass Will Tippin dental torture joke I've been holding back' and I was responded 'ONE IN FIVE!!!!'

Of course I would! You have my email address, yes?

Date: 2011-06-21 06:52 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dollsome.livejournal.com
Oh my God, that is the most harrowing tale of dentistry I have ever heard! And I am pretty sure there was a Series of Unfortunate Events book about a dentist!!! Plus, you know, Will Tippin.

Date: 2011-06-21 07:34 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sunshine-queen.livejournal.com
I have never had such a harrowing encounter, nor do I hope to again!

Date: 2011-06-21 12:02 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] leiascully.livejournal.com
I use this icon in outrage. WHAT EVEN, DUDEBRO DENTISTS.

Date: 2011-06-21 01:31 pm (UTC)
yubsie: (Default)
From: [personal profile] yubsie
o_O That is one insanely awful dental saga

Date: 2011-06-21 02:58 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] imelda72.livejournal.com
Uugggghhhh, you should call that office and bitch them out. Or even better, have your parents do it, if theyre the type. That is totally unacceptable.

Date: 2011-06-21 03:17 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sunshine-queen.livejournal.com
IT WAS SO WEIRD, MARY. Why were they having that discussion over me? Why?!

Date: 2011-06-21 03:18 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sunshine-queen.livejournal.com
The sad thing was that it wasn't so bad at first! I was like, yeah, it sucks that I'm here two hours later, but whatever! I'm entertained! And then I went back there and what even.

Date: 2011-06-21 03:21 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sunshine-queen.livejournal.com
The stupid thing is, I kept smiling and saying it was okay. Even when I went to the receptionist I literally said "I don't mean to sound impatient, but I've been waiting two hours," which, WHAT? "I don't mean to sound impatient"? It was so lame.

Date: 2011-06-21 03:38 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] xenaamber.livejournal.com
That is ridiculous. Find a new dentist! They shouldn't screw you around like that. Glad you are okay, though.

FYI, Novocaine sucks, in general. I had two wisdom teeth out with it, and the other two (plus part of an extraction/crown insertation at the same time) done with anesthetic that put me to sleep completely, and it was SO MUCH BETTER. If they give you the option ever, take it.

Date: 2011-06-21 03:54 pm (UTC)
yubsie: (Default)
From: [personal profile] yubsie
Yeah, I've never heard of such madness before.

Date: 2011-06-21 05:26 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sunshine-queen.livejournal.com
This *is* the new dentist! D:

I had all my wisdom teeth out, and they knocked me completely out. Pros: I was totally asleep and felt nothing. Cons: I am incredibly sensitive to whatever they gave me, so not only did it take me forever to wake up (and I kept not breathing on my own, much to my mother's horror) and later, in another one of my common reactions to this sort of medicine, I threw up every fifteen minutes from about ten PM to four AM.

Date: 2011-06-21 05:26 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sunshine-queen.livejournal.com
It's over now, even if my jaw still hurts.

Date: 2011-06-21 05:47 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] littledivinity.livejournal.com
It's a good thing you aren't as crazy as I am, because I would probably swear off the dentist forever and just let all of my teeth fall out if I experienced that. :(((

But yay for friends making everything better! A+++ life choices, there.

Date: 2011-06-21 07:04 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sunshine-queen.livejournal.com
Oh, it crossed my mind, asking what would happen if I just never got any cavities taken care of.

I think separately, the first attempt with the pain wouldn't have been so traumatic if I hadn't already been frustrated that I had been waiting for ten years, but the waiting + the pain + more milder but still freaky pain + the fetish talk was just too much. The dentist also cursed a few times, which freaked me out.

Date: 2011-06-21 11:43 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bel-baggins.livejournal.com
Yikes! That's an awful dentist visit. :( You should call whatever that number they used to advertise - 1-800 DENTIST - and tell them to take that dentist off their approved list ...

Date: 2011-06-21 11:59 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sunshine-queen.livejournal.com
IDK, I feel like it was just such a weird confluence of events. The time factor could happen to anyone, so that was unfortunate but not a deal-breaker for me, and the pain thing wasn't really anyone's fault but the weird medicine or whatever. The only thing that really bothered me was the fetish discussion. I guess because I'm young that the dentist thought it'd be okay to talk about that sort of stuff in front of me?

Date: 2011-06-22 05:15 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] xenaamber.livejournal.com
I can only imagine what the old dentist was like, haha!

Can they not give you some other anesthetic that you aren't sensitive to? They must have encountered this before. What will happen if/when you ever need more serious surgery?

Btw, I was clearing out closets today and I came across some of the letters you wrote to me the summer I was at camp (2001, I think). Wow, were we ever young and NUTS. I will have to scan a couple for you!

Date: 2011-06-22 05:24 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sunshine-queen.livejournal.com
We went to the same one for a thousand years, but they weren't super great, and then we went to another dentist last year that my mom wasn't wild about, so then we found this guy, who had been otherwise great until the incredibly weird fetish discussion.

I don't know that there are any other things out there! An anti-emetic worked fine when I was in the hospital for my reduction, it was only with my wisdom teeth that we realized it makes me sick. I'm special like that.

D: I am frightened to even think of what could've possibly been included. WE WERE BABIES, JESS. ... Holy crap, that was ten years ago.

Date: 2011-06-22 05:32 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] xenaamber.livejournal.com
I would keep tabs on this guy and decide if he is all that great. Sounds very fishy to me. Maybe it was just I bad day, I guess...

I have no idea what's out there. But reactions to anesthetic don't sound like a good thing to me. It's got to be to some component of the meds, and if your issue is a common one, they may have alternatives, I guess. Is it morphine specifically, or all morphine-like chemicals?

They are quite horrifying, actually. I am so glad I don't have any of mine anymore ('cause, duh, I sent them to you). I particularly enjoyed your habit of breaking up paragraphs with random song verses doctored up with Xena lyrics. We were little kids, and it really is scary that 1) we've known each other THAT LONG, and 2) we're adults now.

On a related note, I don't know if you saw on Facebook, but I was in California last week on vacation (!) and had lunch with Adrienne Wilkinson (!!). I talked about you a little in the "why the internet is good" conversation (!!!). Hope your ears were burning. ;-)

Date: 2011-06-22 05:32 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] xenaamber.livejournal.com
and of course, I mean "a bad day" *slaps forehead*

Date: 2011-06-22 05:34 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sunshine-queen.livejournal.com
YOU HAD LUNCH WITH ADRIENNE? WHAT?

Date: 2011-06-22 05:38 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] xenaamber.livejournal.com
I did!! We have emailed on and off for the past few years, and I asked if she was free while we were in LA. And she was! And we met! And talked for, like, a couple of hours! Including about you! And she continues to be utterly fabulous! And there are too many exclamation marks in this post! But I don't care!

Date: 2011-06-22 06:03 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sunshine-queen.livejournal.com
That's so cool, good for you! I'm glad you had a good time and that she's still awesome. YOU HAVE A FAMOUS FRIEND, JESS, YOU WIN.

Date: 2011-06-22 02:24 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] xenaamber.livejournal.com
I replied but wasn't signed in on my phone, so I don't know what happened to my anon comment. Short version: Adrienne is awesome and I am lucky.

Date: 2011-06-23 02:45 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] agent-nica.livejournal.com
Speaking of 80%, I 80% thought "omg poor Madi, this is terrible!" I say only 80% because I was laughing at parts of it.

-Nica

Date: 2011-06-23 02:47 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] agent-nica.livejournal.com
Also, is there some sort of like, Better Business Bureau, but for dentists? The... Dependable Dentists Department? or something? to whom you could report this RIDICULOUS office? After 45 minutes of you waiting, they should have told you they were unable to take you and would need to reschedule.

Date: 2011-06-23 03:17 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sunshine-queen.livejournal.com
I think I was ruined because the dentist we used to go to would keep us waiting for over an hour and that was the norm, so I was like, la la la whatever until, you know, two hours happened and nothing was going on. But I think you're onto something with the DDD.

Date: 2011-06-23 03:18 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sunshine-queen.livejournal.com
I accept this. It wasn't *super* terrible, except for when it hurt, but the awkward conversation... ugh.

Date: 2011-06-23 03:16 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] gemmi-joo.livejournal.com
What an [unnecessary] adventure! Like someone above said, a Suit & Glasses experience! It's so hard to find new dentists but I think you should definitely consider it! I have only ever had one sucky dentist, but that was because she was way too rough. The dentist I've had for years now is a dreamboat, however. He makes my trips much more worth it. ;P

Date: 2011-06-23 04:07 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sunshine-queen.livejournal.com
Yeah, it was a series of unfortunate events that snowballed into one another. And he was so cool last week when I went for a cleaning! Quick, efficient, pleasant... I'll probably give the office another shot because they're so close and everyone else in my family has been okay.

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