teefers!

ever since I can remember, I've been terrified of losing my teeth. chipping a tooth, cracking a tooth, accidentally pulling it out, getting floss permanently stuck between two of them, you name it- if it was tooth related, I was losing sleep over it. I also read that if you have frequent dreams about losing teeth, then it meant you were hiding or lying about something. I did a thorough inventory and could find no lies to speak of- the tooth nightmares continued.

all that to say, I've  been pretty adamant about my tooth care. I had braces in elementary school, had my wisdom teeth pulled in high school, got new retainers a few years ago when my teeth started shifting, and never missed my twice yearly cleanings. but the year I was pregnant was a little tough on my teeth, in more ways than one.

First, we switched dentists and I committed the cardinal sin of not ensuring they were in our network before we went. they weren't, and that resulted in an $800 bill because the husband needed some work done. obviously, that left a bad taste in my mouth (no pun intended), and I didn't exactly want to rush back to that dentist. my next appointment should have been in January '13, but I was 9 months pregnant and without a dentist, and trust me, I wasn't going to find one now. So I lagged and gaggled and let it go by and finally got a new dentist this July- one year after my last appointment. It felt long to me, but after talking to an old coworker who hadn't gone in 6 years I still felt pretty good.

WRONG!

I don't know if I just found the most thorough dentist on the planet, if my dentist for the past 5 years was horrible, or if Little Wood stripped me of every ounce of tooth calcium she could muster, but in the last month, I've had to get FIVE (5) FILLINGS! One of them was so bad, the dentist was afraid I might need a root canal. Alas, no pain has warranted that.

I walked out of my initial appointment feeling so dirty! What the heck? 5 fillings? And he needs to watch 3 more "just in case?" What was my previous dentist doing? Sight seeing? Needless to say, I was pretty pissed. These are my one set of pearly whites and they are in shambles!

The one "pro" is that my dentist is pretty suave and I get to have my teeth nursed back to health in a massage chair while I watch TV. but STILL!

Little Wood, you were totally worth it, but couldn't you have left me in a little better shape?