The" P" Man

Ok...when I was young I was never pressured by my parents to brush my teeth let alone floss them. Dental hygiene were foreign words around my house. I do remember starting to go to the dentist when I was like 12 or something, but the importance put on our teeth just wasn't there overall. So its a little ironic that my wife is a dental hygienist. Now she is the one who drills me about proper dental hygiene and I am pretty sure that she has made up for all the lessons I missed as a kid.

We all know that hygienist always preach to us every time we get our teeth cleaned about flossing. "You really need to floss at least twice a day" they always say. And I usually respond..."I know... I know" as they look back at me with a  smirk and I can read what they are thinking. There thinking
 "OK butt head...cant say I didn't tell ya"
 Yeah, you know the look...cause they all do it. :)

But seriously, its THEE most important part of our hygiene advice we could follow. I think as parents we always tell our kids about how important it is to brush, brush, brush. And really we should be telling them that if they don't floss daily...they will look like a gummy bear when they get older.

I say all this because the other day I had my first cleaning (They called it a deep root scale and planing....I call it punishment for not flossing).... done at the periodontist (I shall call him "P" man) and I must tell you...I was petrified. If it wasn't for the awesome, amazing, magnificent  prescription drugs they gave me to make me forget everything...  I probably wouldn't go back...and I'm not sure why I say that...because I really don't remember anything aside from getting numbed up by the cute hygienist and the Doctor coming in to pull a tooth, But its funny because I don't remember him actually pulling it...hmmm  I am thinking the gap I have where my premolar used to be...is evidence enough for me that he did . So now, I must go back every four months for these drugs...I mean...to get my teeth cleaned from him. I wouldn't be honest if I didn't tell you that the little blue pills they gave me were a great way to escape reality, and I couldn't help but wonder why I never heard of anyone selling them on the street before....I mean...can you imagine how handy drugs like that would be on holidays, or when the in-laws visit..... you could just say you had a Great time but actually not remember a minute of it.
And in case you were wondering  its not Viagra I am talking about. These little blue pills actually are meant to last for  more than four hours :)

Oh yeah..I just remembered one thing that the hygienist said to me...she said..."did anyone ever tell you that you have a small mouth?" I remember thinking really? Did you just tell me I have a little mouth...well sorry to inconvenience you but did anyone tell you that mouths come in all shapes and sizes? SO ok...That's what I though to myself...what I actually said to her was...ahh ahh ..I mean after all..I did have a bite block and some very sharp instruments in my mouth. And don't get me wrong...I am glad it was her rather than  "P" man" telling me I had a small mouth...I may have gotten a little suspicious at that point.

So overall my first experience with the "P" man  wasn't to awful. My teeth were a little sore that night but the next day they were fine. They are a little more sensitive to hot and cold now...so I may have to start ordering my drinks with no ice...or start drinking warm coffee vs Hot coffee. These are small sacrifices really,  if I can keep my teeth for the long haul.However,  I always said that I have lived my life with no regrets...but that's a lie...I really wished I would have listened the first time the hygienists told me to floss more.