dentistchairI know that a lot of people aren’t fans of the dentist. I’m not a member of the Official Dentistry Fan Club either, but I can go for a checkup without getting freaked out. It’s just not on my list of stuff that I enjoy doing. The last time I went to the dentist was about 2 years ago. I had 5 cavities. This struck me as odd because I think I brush more now than I did when I was in high school and had no cavities. So I haven’t been back to the dentist since then.

Until last week. I was having some sensitivity when brushing on one side and I looked closer to find a tiny hole in the side of my tooth. I had no further excuse not to go see the dentist, so I looked up which ones were covered under my new insurance and made an appointment.

The visit wasn’t horrible. I had a few cavities which was to be expected. But something else dawned on me. When I’m in the chair, the dentist could really say anything to me. What can I do to respond? The guy’s hands are in my mouth and I don’t know sign language. He could be tossing out racial slurs or explaining how he killed his last patient and I just have to sit there and go “Uh huh.” This is tough for me. I’m not one for small talk in most cases, especially with people I don’t know, but for some reason I’m good at it when talking to people in the service industry. Be they doctor, postal worker or cashier, I can joke with them and make the time somewhat enjoyable. My powers are rendered useless by the dentist though.

What am I to do in this situation? I can’t hold my quips in and release them all at once after he’s done with my cleaning and examination. That wouldn’t make any sense because I would have lost all context of the conversation. I just have to take it and hope that after it’s over I can fire off a couple decent one-liners on my way out. I’m not going to try to compensate for the one-sided conversation earlier though. I’m content with what I can get.

Until next time, Dentist…Until next time.

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