Going to the dentist to get a temporary crown

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had made appointments for me and my husband to go see the dentist.  Being a terrible coward, I fretted and whined the entire time because it had been more than twenty years since I had been to the dentist and I was afraid that I would need extensive (and expensive) dental work. 

As it turned out, this was not the case.  My teeth and I are doing fine.  And, while I still don't like going to the dentist, It is not something that I am afraid of any longer.

My husband had lost a hunk of tooth from one of his back molars, and, as expected, he needed a crown.  Poor guy.  It must have been painful having a hunk of tooth missing, but he never whined or complained.  I admire that, even though I don't emulate his behavior. 

Our new dentist explained what to expect when you need a crown and made the first appointment for Monday, December 3rd. 

The appointment day came and I went with my husband for moral support.  It was my day off and I didn't have anything better to do, anyway.  The weather was cool and I was wearing my new, but slightly uncomfortable tennis shoes.   (Note to self, never buy shoes if they aren't 100% comfortable right out of the box!)  I thought about going for a walk, but decided against it because I'm a puss when it comes to cold weather, my feet hurt, and, most importantly, I wasn't sure how long the procedure would last.  I ended up sitting in the waiting room flipping through a variety of glossy magazines and wondering how many germs were lying in wait and exactly how many people had leafed through those same magazines and if they had washed their hands after they had gone to the restroom. 

Time went by fairly quickly and in less than eighty minutes my husband was returned to me as good as ever, maybe even a little improved seeing as the gaping hole in his tooth was (temporarily) fixed.  He even showed it to me when we got back to the car and the temporary crown they had put in blended well with the rest of his teeth.

Impressive!

Now, he still has to go back on the seventeenth of December to get the permanent crown installed.  And that will hopefully be the last I have to see of the dentist until my six month check-up in May.  *knock on wood*

Going to the dentist... eek

I found a dentist that is in-network with my insurance. They are less than a mile from the house, in fact, we pass them every day to and from work. After some prompting from my husband, I called and made an appointment for both of us on the fifteenth of November. *eek*

It's been a very long time since I've been to a dentist. I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that, but former job didn't offer dental insurance and neither did any of my other minimum wage jobs. I've spent my entire adult life up until now barely making ends meet so I didn't make seeing the dentist much of a priority. If your teeth weren't bothering you, why worry about it? I know that isn't a good attitude, but it was how I thought. 

Still... the dentist. Even when I was a kid I hated going to the dentist. And now that I'm an adult, I STILL don't like going. But I will. For my husband if for nothing else. He can't ignore a gaping hole in his back molar. He's going to need a crown, at the very least.  So if he can man up and do what's right for his teeth, well, so can I.

But I still don't like going. What can I say? I'm a coward.