I’ve been spending more and more time with a particular female dentist-friend in London, and am only now realizing the full range of oral services she can perform – but they come with a price.
For instance, my teeth have always been more yellow than the average person, and I don’t even smoke or drink tea or coffee–the usual culprits. So she offered to make me a set of bleaching trays, which I thought was a great idea.
And then when it came time to sit in the chair (upholstered dinging room chair) she switched into business mode, pulled my head back, and pushed in a dental plate wadded high with that solidifying goo they use, which squirted deeper into my throat and started a gag-reflex. I kicked and fought like a dog being given a pill, broke free from her grasp, and ran into the kitchen spitting dental mold stuff into the sink. Which is a bit of a feat, as it had begun to solidify around my teeth.
She was laughing and scolding, and told me that I was her most difficult patient ever, with her family members a close second. Why is that family members (or anyone who gets your service for free) thinks they know as much as you? I’ve been in the same situation myself, on the other end. In 10+ years of providing IT consulting, who was the one and only person who actually argued with me about something? My mother, when I was hired to give computer training in her school. She’s a lovely woman and a wonderful mother, but when you don’t know how to cut and paste, don’t argue with the IT guy!
Anyway, a few ruined molds later, some arguing about who was going to put the mold in and how much goo to put on it (turns out she does know more than me about dentistry), and one more neck-lock wrestle session, I had a beautiful dental impression made. And, a self-portrait picture, just after the last struggle.
I also became really interested in this dental goo. It starts as powder, turns into a pudding consistency when you add water, and then solidifies into something rubbery 30 seconds later. Why hasn’t anyone given this to me yet? The possibilities are amazing! I hope my cousins’ kids aren’t reading this, cause they’re getting some for Christmas. It rocks!
