About 12 years ago was when I last went to one. It may be more than 12 but, for our sake, we'll say it is. About 12 years ago, I went to the dentist for the last time. Until this summer. This summer, I went to see a dentist because I have dental insurance again.

Let's speed forward: I love my dentist. I love everything about her. Maybe it's because I have always had male dentists but my current dentist is just the nicest person in the world. And, she has a great "chair"-side manner. As of today, I have actually seen her five times in the past six months. Talk about making up for lost time.

But, let's go back to the first visit: what stood out the most was that she walked into the room, sat down next to me, and started a conversation. And just like that, I fell in love. We talked about life in general, about dental health, about teeth issues that I have, and other things. She examined my teeth, took some digital x-rays, took some digital pictures, and did a cleaning. I also returned for a scaling, two more visits for an on-lay, and a fifth for a cavity. Since my insurance does have a yearly cap, I won't be seeing her until January.

Now back to today: I had gone in to get a cavity filled on tooth #2. Before that, I had gotten an on-lay on #14. Originally, we were going to put an on-lay on #3 first but the doctor thought that I may have to get that root canaled. Plus, #14 was becoming symptomatic, so we decided to deal with it first... but I digress... After, filling the cavity in #2, she decided to take a new x-ray of #3. After further review, we are going to start with putting an on-lay on #3 because she thinks the tooth is not totally decayed. Which is good news because it saves me almost $1500.

Which is why I love her.

She does think I am very strange (not because I can rattle off the teeth numbers) because I have an uncanny tolerance for pain when it comes to getting my teeth worked on. During the scaling, she only did topical anesthesia. Nope, no novacaine for me. Just call me Butch McButchness. She did remark how she was was a bit weirded out for my tolerance for pain; especially since she dug deeper than she normally does. Even for someone who took the novacaine shot. Yes, I am weird that way.

So, weird that I refuse to be put under, listen to music, or watch a movie while I am getting any dental work done. Oh, did I mention you can either watch a movie or listen to music as the dentist works on your teeth? I never do. I love the sound of the drill. It makes me feel like I am getting my money's worth. Strange, eh? Later.  ¶ 12:00 AM