afraid of the dentist? who me?

I'm afraid of the dentist.

But not for the reasons that you're probably imagining.

I didn't have a traumatic experience as a child. Or no experiences at all.

Ever since I was a little kid my sisters and I went to the dentist every 6 months like clockwork. In fact, I kind of looked forward to it! We had a great hygenist (Bob), who had the driest sense of humor ever. I realize now that he was trying to joke with me, but as a kid I just didn't get it. We also had a kind dentist (Dr. Tartara) whom I never once saw, in 18 years, without his mask on.

I assume he had a normal face beneath that cover, but can't know for sure. What I do know is that his smile always reached his eyes, because that's the only part I could see.

I never had a cavity and simple cleanings were a breeze.

So where does this fear come from?

Let me tell you.

Ever since I've been "on my own" going to the dentist has been a major hassle. Drew and I have moved several times since we got married and each move means we have to find a new dentist. This wouldn't be a big deal except that every dentist we've found in VA, PA, and OH have been convinced of our impending dental catastrophe.

They X-ray, they poke, they scan -- and always find a problem. Often several problems that will cost thousands to repair.

How is it that I have:

1) no pain
2) no previous symptoms
3) an electric toothbrush that I use 2-3 times/day
4) Costco-sized bottles of Listerine
5) dental insurance

And yet, STILL, have dental problems that will cost me an arm and a leg.

The truth is that I don't believe I do. Honestly, I think they use the technology to find every little pit or crack and declare it a dental emergency.

The main reason I think this is because every time Drew and I got an estimate for $2000 in fillings, etc we would go to another dentist for a second opinion and he/she declared us perfectly healthy! How can that be??

Despite this belief, I'm not the type of person who can hear "you have a problem that needs to be fixed" and just walk away not caring, so this news is always very distressing. In fact, I put off going back to the dentist this time around because I was scared he would find something new to fix.

Just last year I had a root canal and subsequent crown on a molar. This wasn't the highlight of my year, to say the least.

But I know that dental health is important, so I bit the bullet and went for a 6-month cleaning yesterday.

And it was wonderful!

Because I'm pregnant they didn't bother taking x-rays. I think it's safe, but from their perspective, why take a chance? With no x-rays or other dental scans all they could do was look at the outside and ask about pain.

I'm pain-free (in the dental region) and had very little plaque/tartar, so I got a clean bill of health!

If I ever needed an argument for Duggar-like childbearing, I think I just found it.