consume us whenever we're forced to face them.
Some kids hate the dark, while others hate large bodies.
I hated the dentist, absolutely loathed it.
But I had a good reason to despise the dentist.
At age twelve, I had three wrong teeth pulled.
Not one, not two, but three.
I'll save you the long story by saying
the horrible experience scarred my view of the dentist.
I've had to get a lot of dental work over
the years due to what happened.
I had braces twice, first for three years,
second for four and a half years.
I have four implants and one bridge.
I also had a jaw surgery seven years ago this month.
I know my mouth forwards and backward.
I know how to articulate my needs and concerns
to the people working on my teeth.
It's both a blessing and a curse to know
my teeth as well as I do.
During all of this time, I never quite
got comfortable with people working on my teeth.
There were many tears along the way.
My horrible experience left me with a fear
that haunted me with each dental procedure.
When getting my implants and bridge put in, they gave me
Valium and put me to sleep every step of the way.
I developed anxiety as a teenager and was anxious
for many years, not just at the dentist.
But the dentist always made me shaky,
no matter how calm the Valium made me feel.
As an adult, I'm not as anxious as I once was.
I have a good relationship with my dentist,
he makes me laugh and understands my concerns.
Today, I had to get a filling done.
I don't like getting numb because when I had my three
wrong teeth removed, they numbed the right places.
The last time I had to get a filling,
I got emotional over having my teeth numb
and cried during the whole thing.
This time I was determined to have it be different.
And it was different.
My dentist assured me that this would be easy,
and so I stated I didn't want to be numb.
He said okay and I didn't need it after all.
Walking out after the simple procedure,
I was reminded that I can go to the dentist without crying.
I can overcome my childhood fear, for the most part,
and leave the ghost in the past.
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