The chair and the needle

While I respect the dentistry profession, I have always had a somewhat irrational fear of going to get my teeth examined.  When I was a kid I didn't mind it so much, but about 12 years ago when I got my wisdom teeth pulled in one grueling hour-long session I started to develop a real aversion to getting my pearly whites examined.  I'm a good brusher for the most part, and floss almost every day, so there's really not much for me to worry about.  But even so, when I went to the dentist for my semi-annual checkup in September the hygienist informed me that despite my best efforts to the contrary, I had developed two cavities on the surfaces of two adjacent teeth.

Major bummer.



She assured me that it wasn't exactly my fault, though--my teeth apparently have surfaces that are just hard to clean.  So a few days ago I bit the bullet, went in, and got the cavities filled.  All in all it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, and certainly a lot easier than the wisdom tooth operation of yore. I think it's the anticipation that's worth than the actual operation, as is probably the case with most medical procedures.  But with my iPod in hand and the laughing gas going straight to my brain, it wasn't all that bad.

Now about that mouth guard the dentist says I'm going to need...

In other news, my parents are coming for a visit this weekend and I'm pretty excited about it.  A year ago they helped me and my wife move in to our new house, and it'll be their first visit since then.  It's going to be cool showing them all the changes and updates we've made to the ol' homestead, and if all goes according to plan my dad and I will be able to move the cable internet hookup across the room while my wife and my mom paint the borders in a few rooms too.  And yes, there will be plenty of popcorn and card games too.  :)