Never be too nice to the dentist
My husband is switching jobs next week, which means a change in insurance and a short-term policy for 90 days. In a scramble to have everyone checked out before then, the girls and I have all had dentist appointments. When Catie and I went last week, they found a sugar bug in each of our mouths. They said that both were minor, just barely anything, and we could watch and wait. But being reluctant to allow a cavity to form, I made appointments to get us fixed.
When we went in yesterday, Catie went first. Her total time was 12 minutes, including getting the moon gas, allowing it time to take effect before they began the work, and her picking out a prize after they were done. 12 minutes.
My total time was 2 hours and 3 minutes.
Yes.
My tiny little doesn’t-even-need-to-be-fixed-now spot became a huge ordeal. Why? you might be wondering. Because unbeknownst to me, I was given a student or a resident or whatever you call them when they are not a real dentist.
Now I understand that everyone needs to learn at some point. And I’m a pretty easygoing gal. But this is not what I signed up for. I do not go to a dental school for our work to be done, we have a regular practice. I did not know when I made the appointment that this is who would be doing the work. (Because guess who would have been doing the watch-and-see then?) And I our insurance is not being billed a discounted rate for having the student do the work. All of these things add up to me not being a happy camper.
The other problem is that I didn’t know she wasn’t a dentist until she started working. On the wrong tooth.
Yup.
Numbed and drilled the. wrong. tooth.
Oopsie!
So then when we’re finally all on the same page about exactly which tooth needs attention, she begins to drill. And drill. And drill some more. Apparently that microscopic little possible problem was nearly impossible for her to reach. After 40 minutes of drilling I was fantasizing about smacking her in the face.
I’d already run through all of the Presidents in order (as best as I could recollect), the Gettysburg address, Hamlet’s big speech, and the words to every Joshua Kadison song I could remember (thanks, dentist office Muzak!). Clearly there was nothing left to think about but how much I dislike this student.
Don’t get me wrong, she seemed very sweet. And an hour previous I’d have been just fine with her. Heck, 20 minutes previous I might have been more generous. But at that point, I was really seriously done.
She, unfortunately, was far from done. She called in a Real Dentist to look at her work, and he (of course) proclaimed that she was not done, so he drilled himself for less than a minute. Upon his departure, I guess the student felt she was smarter than the master, because she started drilling again.
Yeah.
She finally finished and got out her tools to fix the damage she’d done, but accidentally slipped and cut my mouth. The blood was too much to easily suction away so they had to stop for a few minutes and let that clear out before proceeding. To her credit, at this point she was smart enough to leave the room while I waited. I’m guessing she was afraid to stay in a small room with me and sharp objects.
She did the actual filling relatively quickly at that point. But then of course that filling needed to be filed. For approximately 45 minutes. Now I was over being angry and just wanted to cry and/or fall asleep. But I couldn’t sleep, because I had to do that whole bite/grind thing over and over and over again so she could figure out where to sand. I think it was a crap shoot for her, because she was all over the place in there. The normal two-time bite and grind became a 12 time procedure. Twelve.
By the time we left my leg had fallen asleep, my lower face was puffy, and even the second round of numbing had begun to wear off. Catie had fallen asleep in her chair while watching cartoons. And the pseudo-dentist declared that her hands were tired. Yeah, so is my jaw, lady.
I should have asked for another dentist. A real dentist.
I should have made her stop.
At the very least, I should have complained on the way out. Or with a phone call today.
But I’m reminded of that line from Fried Green Tomatoes. “Assertiveness Training for Southern Women. Now that’s a contradiction in terms.”
And it is.
So I shall be a very sweet southern lady and suffer in silence at the dentist.
But learn from my experience, my friends. The dentist’s office is no place to be polite.
You’ve been warned.
Tags: dentist
Life Lessons | Heather May 14, 2009
Facebook comments:
By Heather @ Just Doing My Best, May 14, 2009 @ 12:01 pm
That is horrible! I’m surprised the “real” dentist let that procedure go on for so long. So much for his over-seeing. Hoping my dentist NEVER retires.
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By melanie, May 14, 2009 @ 1:15 pm
wow. oh wow oh wow. insane!
i have a little assertiveness story. on saturday we were helping our friends move into a rental house, but the house is still on the market. so the house is a DISASTER filled with boxes, furniture, PEOPLE, kids, babies, etc. and these realtors arrive for showings. well, my daughter was napping in one of the bedrooms, so i just walked up to the realtor and told her that the 4th bedroom is not available b/c a child is sleeping there. i mean, why WOULDN’T i just tell them that?
my friend and her sister were DYING b/c they thought i was just so assertive for doing that. and i was LAUGHING b/c i told them that this kind of thing just comes naturally to me, and i was not even TRYING to be assertive in that moment. maybe i should teach a class–how to be an unsweet, assertive northern woman?
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By Jodi, May 14, 2009 @ 6:59 pm
What a total nightmare! I was cringing just reading this!
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By Darcie - Such The Spot, May 14, 2009 @ 7:16 pm
Are you freaking kidding me? Girl southern shmuthern – someone ought to have slapped that chick upside the head. No wonder I didn’t thrive when I lived in the South; I was a tad too *assertive* to fit in I guess.
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By Liz, May 14, 2009 @ 10:27 pm
That is one of the most awful stories I’ve ever heard. There’s always tomorrow to make a phone call.
How can the dentist not know the torture that student is putting the patients through? Heaven help any CHILDREN they let her work on. Oh my!
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By Jo Y, May 15, 2009 @ 4:43 pm
Wow Heather that sounds terrible and so painful!!!
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By Lara, May 28, 2009 @ 11:24 am
Oh my goodness that is soooo horrifying! You poor thing! Lesson learned though I hope
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By Dinnetta, June 1, 2009 @ 12:21 pm
Oh. My. God! After she started on the wrong tooth, I would have asked for the real dentist. That is insane! I’m normally not a very assertive person, but that is ridiculous to the umpteenth power!
*hugs* for being so… patient! LOL
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