I love the dentist!
Or, to be more precise, I love going to the dentist's office! I've told a lot of people about this, and the response is almost always something like, "Seriously? Why?" Now, I should concede right off the bat that I speak from what could be considered a place of immense privilege. There is, as far as I understand, quite a lot of genetics at play when it comes to the strength of one's enamel, and I absolutely won the lottery in that department. I have also not suffered any serious oral injury, undergone any oral surgery (besides the removal of all four of my wisdom teeth), or been scolded or mistreated during any of my regular cleanings and check-ups. My enjoyment of the dentist comes from my subjective, individual experience, which is, as we've established, far from universal. Fair enough.
Of course, I am pretty proud of the way I maintain my oral health. I brush my teeth in the morning (before breakfast/coffee!) and before bed. I floss regularly. I even use a taut piece of floss to scrape the crud off my tongue from time to time. And, yeah, I get a kick out of being told what a good noodle I am every six months or so. I have been accused of having a praise kink. Sue me!
There's more to it than that though. It just feels good to have my teeth professionaly scraped clean and polished to a shine. Like a little spa day for my mouth! There's a nice physical sensation that lasts a while afterwards. I like to go early in the morning when I can. To enjoy the novelty of deviating just that little bit from my usual routine and going on a little journey while it's still cool and sleepy out. When all is said and done, I can go into work with a little extra confidence. It's hard to feel like a failure when the dentist is proud of me. And that little hygiene boost makes a big difference for me. It's well-documented that I often neurotically groom myself in the lead-up to a big work week or (what I perceive as) a high-stakes social outing (read: most social outings). You could liken the post-dentist glow to a temporary stat buff, I suppose.
I especially like my current dentist. I had to shop around a little when I moved to my current city, but now I'm locked in. The place is no-frills, and, unlike many trendy dentists trying to soften the image of the profession, it's pretty clinical. There's not a TV in the whole place. But the fish in the fish tank have tons of room to swim around, which makes me happy. And the exam room has this poster mounted on the ceiling:
Like her practice, my dentist herself is very cool but very clinical. A couple of times, she did my whole cleaning herself without the help of a hygienist (a first for me), scraping plaque meticulously from each crevice while I lay there finding my dentist's office zen. She gives really specific feedback in terms of places to floss a little extra and things like that. And she's the only dentist I've ever had who's commented on my mamelons: bumps on my incisors which, unusually, have not been worn down at my ripe age of 25. (I attribute this to both my tough enamel and some peculiarities of my bite.) I had an appointment this morning, and I can't wait for the next one!
And now, a sad twist. As you may have calculated (especially if you're USAmerican), my next appointment will be my last before getting booted off my parents' dental insurance. Given my current financial and employment situation, which won't change for at least another year or so after that, it's hard to say what will happen in the interim. This is, like, the worst thing that can happen to a guy* like me!
What do you think of going to the dentist? I know a lot of people have valid reasons for disliking it, but little occasional rituals like that appeal to me in a certain kind of way. I'm sure there are others who feel the same. Maybe someone you love is a dentist, even! My grandfather was, and a very dear friend of mine is a dental student. Anyway, if you have dentist-related thoughts, or if you just want to flame me for my weird bumpy teeth and for being a nerd, drop me a line at asksycamore [at] mailbox [dot] org. Thanks for reading, uh, whatever this was, and remember to brush your teeth tonight if you feel up to it! Or not. I'm not your mom.