A long time ago, I learned my lesson the hard way when it comes to regularly scheduled dentist visits, when a years-long hiatus resulted in the most intense stabbing pain I’ve ever experienced, aside from labor. So bad that on the way to the emergency dentist for some painkillers to get me through until my regular toothman could see me, I literally stopped the car and smacked my jaw into the driver’s side window for a minute because I couldn’t focus and it wouldn’t stop and I needed to give my mind something ELSE to think about so I could finish driving the rest of the way. One root canal later I was a convert for life to regular checkups, cleanings and prompt action where the health of my teeth is concerned.
After I dislocated my jaw several years ago (through a lifetime of GRINDING MY TEETH AT NIGHT, I shit you not) I ended up with a biteguard and my dentist, whom I adore, told me I was being a little overzealous about wanting to come in for a check up every 6 months. When you consider how expensive going to the dentist is in Sweden, where a regular cleaning & check up costs nearly 1000 kronor and there’s no dental insurance, I figured she was right, so I relaxed a little, and went down to the normal once a year.
At some point, some months back, I started to get this nagging feeling that I was forgetting something, and after some more time had passed, I realized that it had been a while since my last dentist visit. I figured the little appointment postcard would make its appearance soon in the mailbox though, and forgot about it again. Until even more time had passed and it came niggling once again into the back of my brain, “man, it’s been ages, could they have forgotten me? I really need to call and check” and then I’d promptly get caught up in my crazy schedule and whoosh it would go under the rug of my busy life. So, through the swirl of summer and the whirlwind of autumn and the holiday hurricane, and finally I came ashore on the far side of January 2006 and got off my duff and made the call…only to find out that OOPS, I HAD fallen off the list, because my dentist’s usual assistant had been on maternity leave and things got mixed up, and well, it’s been TWO YEARS.
Immediately, my teeth starting aching, and whinging and sending little shooting nervous stabs of dismay through my jaw. 2 years?! So, it was with rather a large amount of trepidation that I went today for my way overdue appointment. 1 cleaning and check up and 2 x-rays later, I was released with a clean bill of teeth: no cavities! WOOT!
All that drama for a post about my teeth! Can you feel the excitement? It’s a real molar-coaster ride around here today! :-B
In other news, my officemate and I decided to send out a meeting invitation to all the women at work to start a “Bad Girls Walking” group. We’ll be walking for half an hour every day after lunch, Monday through Thursday. So far, 12 people have signed up, and I’m thrilled. I’m still going to walk with Martin in the evenings, but it will be much easier to go during what passes for daylight when I’m not wiped out after a crazy 8 hours of work.
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Cracking Me Up: (My French colleage sent this in an e-mail to me today)
3 continental Europeans are being interviewed for a position in England. In order to test their grasp of the English language, the recruiter requests that they each write 1 sentence using the following 3 words: green, pink, and yellow.
The Belgian writes: I wake up in the morning, I eat a yellow banana, a green pepper and in the evening I watch the Pink Panther on TV.
The German writes: I wake up in the morning, I see the yellow sun, the green grass and I think to myself, “I hope it will be a pink day.”
The Frenchman writes: I wake up in ze mornink, I hear ze phone: “green…green…green” and I pink up ze phone and I say “Yellow“?
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More Cracking Me Up: “Strip Sex Nuclear Dance On Ice” With Torvill And Deane
Even More Cracking Me Up: Burning onions = ten years of therapy