The Story of the Mad Dentist

So, the other day I went to the dentist. My chipped-tooth filling came out a few weeks ago, so I needed to get that repaired. I was a little frustrated. First of all, the first time she repaired it was in November, so it wasn't that long ago; secondly, it was the first time I had seen that particular dentist and I wasn't too impressed by the overall experience (2 hour ordeal just for a 15 minute appointment, etc.)

Well, now I had to go in again to get the same thing repaired and it was dramatic. Besides the fact that they called me in an hour earlier just to see me at my original scheduled time in the end, the actually appointment was shady. All the dentist had to do was re-fill my filling. Period. She decided to do it with mechanical as well as chemical retention (which was fine), but she ended up pulling out a needle.

Shock!

This needle was the kind they give you when you go in for root canals. Not joking.

Now, those who know me know that I am a little weird because my favorite part about going to the dentist is getting dumbed. (Not the poke, but the numbness afterward. Seriously, Juan and his friend gave me topical Lidocaine samples from the Reps for my birthday.) But after I saw the needle, I was NOT looking forward to it. By the way, I should mention that for this particular mechanical retention, this needle was totally unnecessary.

She first sprayed a local anesthetic in my mouth, and then proceeded to insert the 50-foot long, aforementioned needle. With every inch of my mouth that it penetrated, I could hear her laugh with devilish delight, "Mwah, ha ha ha ha!" Okay, not really.

This next part is something that all future and present dentists should pay close attention to:

After my face started tingling (but while she was still jabbing around my mouth,) my lovely dentist starts asking me questions like, "Are you taking any medications", "Are you pregnant or breastfeeding", "Are you allergic to anything", and so forth. Flashing Red light! If I actually answered yes to any of those questions, she could get sued for malpractice, ESPECIALLY if something went wrong. She was supposed to ask them before anything went into my mouth.

In the end, it wasn't a big deal; however, I realized a few things about the medical profession. You cannot make a mistake. Oh yeah, and you shouldn't use big, horrible needles unless necessary.

Oh, and one more thing for the patients... EAT before going in to get numbed. It's a loooong wait afterwards.