The Dentist

I had the joy of going to the dentist today. Just a cleaning and some X-rays, no biggie. But, they had a new hygenist, so I had to explain to her that I wanted ABSOLUTELY no pain. She did really well, so I'm pretty happy about the whole thing, today at least. But getting to this point in my life has taken some serious work.

I hate the dentist. Well, to be clear, I hate going to the dentist. I had a terrible experience as a kid and then had braces put on my already straight teeth when I was in high school (supposedly to fix an overbite, whatever, I noticed no change). Then came the years between college and the job I have now (about 8 years) when I didn't have dental insurance, wasn't making much money (if any), and I was afraid of going to and paying the dentist. All of that combined gives me some justification for hating going to the dentist.

But, when I got to Peoria and got some decent dental insurance, I found a pretty good dentist. I like his hygenist and I think the dentist himself is a pretty decent guy. On my first visit, he and I came to an understanding. He walked into the exam room reading my file and said:

Dentist: So . . . I see here that you are a lawyer.

Me: Yes.

Dentist: I hate lawyers.

Me: That's okay . . . I hate dentists.

Dentist: So . . . we're good then?

Me: Yep.

I like honesty and up-front-ness. Hey, he can hate lawyers, but I bet at least one has saved his ass a couple of times. And, I can hate dentists, as long as he gives me lots of painkillers and makes my teeth look good. In my book, that's a good relationship.