On The Dentist

Unpopular opinion: I actually kind of like going to the dentist.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. The dentist? But that’s the place people use as the standard for terrible places! There’s even a dentist-themed expression—“it’s like pulling teeth”—that’s used to describe painful and uncomfortable experiences. How could someone possibly enjoy going to the dentist?

Well, hear me out.

For one, dental appointments are pretty low stakes as far as medicine goes. Your dentist is never going to tell you you’ve got eight weeks left to live or diagnose you with some life-altering, incurable disease. In fact, the absolute worst that could possibly happen is that you have to get all of your teeth removed—and even that, though really uncomfortable and unfortunate, can at least mainly be resolved with dentures or implants. Anything short of losing all your teeth, such as a root canal or wisdom tooth surgery, can be painful, but at least it’s generally a one-and-done procedure without too long a recovery period or too many side effects.

The dentist’s office is also just full of really cool tools. My personal favorite is the LED curing light, which looks kind of like a thick pen with a red platform attached to it. For the longest time, I was so perplexed by this instrument because whenever the dentist would hold it up to my teeth, it wouldn’t feel like anything was actually happening—no pain, no scratching sensation, nothing! It wasn’t until very recently that I finally got around to asking someone what it does and, turns out, the curing light shines high intensity blue light to polymerize (essentially harden) the resin monomers that make up a tooth filling. Because the light is so high intensity, it’s actually pretty dangerous for your eyes, so dentists will often give you fun sunglasses to wear during the procedure—yet another reason to love the dentist!

An LED curing light! Image found here.

Then, there’s the fact that at the end of every dentist appointment, you get this cute little goodie bag to take home with you, filled with a tooth brush, toothpaste, and floss. In contrast, the only thing I ever get from my general practitioner at the end of an appointment is a shot and a print-out of a chart that makes me feel bad about my height and weight percentiles.

I’ll admit, there’s also a part of me that likes going to the dentist for the ego boost I get there. The dental hygienist and I always have this same back-and-forth in which she asks me if I’ve ever had braces, I tell her no, and she exclaims, “Wow—but your teeth are so even and straight!” Then, during the cleaning itself, whenever the hygienist finds any dirt or plaque between my teeth, she always tells me, “yeah, there’s some dirt build-up around here… but it’s NOT your fault! The naturally grooved shape of your teeth makes them especially difficult to clean and you’re doing a great job overall.” Though I’m sure she says this to all her patients, it still makes me feel special every time I visit.

One time, I had to get a filling replaced and the dentist himself spent a solid five minutes apologizing profusely for having to assign the procedure, emphasizing that it wasn’t my fault and that my pediatric dentist must have just done a bad job putting in the original filling eight years prior. The craziest part though, was that when I came in to do the filling (using the fun LED curing light and sunglasses, of course) about a week later, the dentist offered me free Ben and Jerry’s ice cream after the appointment! Turns out, I had come at just the right time because it was patient appreciation day in the office.

The suction unit, or Purge Master as I like to refer to it, is another cool instrument the dentist uses!

As much as I may joke about how afraid my dentist is of offending me or how fancy I think the dental instruments are, though, I do recognize that going to the dentist is not a pleasant experience for everyone. I’ve been lucky in that I’ve never had to undergo any truly difficult dental procedures beyond wisdom tooth surgery. But some people really do have complicated oral health histories and for them, going to the dentist can be a stressful time. Not everyone necessarily responds well to oral procedures, either, whether they have an overactive gag reflex or are prone to fainting when they see blood coming out of their mouth.

I’ve also been fortunate to have a dentist who really takes the time to explain the reasons behind every procedure he performs in the office, as well as to teach me how to better care for my teeth at home. But clear communication with your patients is something some medical providers take for granted. One of my friends, for example, dreads going to the orthodontist because every time she does, her orthodontist completely changes up the long term plan they had developed together for a dental implant she needs. It’s only after a lot of questioning that he even explains to her why he needs to change their timeline and often, the reason is something he had known about for a while, but just never warned her could be a possibility. As a result, she has trouble trusting her orthodontist and never truly feels comfortable going into appointments.

Going to the dentist is also a luxury that not everyone can afford. Until very recently, I didn’t have dental insurance and I can attest to the fact that even simple dental cleanings are very expensive, while more involved procedures can be hundreds of dollars. I’m lucky to have grown up in a family that valued dental care and could afford to allocate money toward it. However, nearly a quarter of the U.S. does not have dental insurance. For low income individuals without dental insurance, yearly dentist appointments are often one of the first budget cuts made, for exactly the reason why I mentioned that I like going to the dentist: oral health is rarely an urgent, life-or-death matter. But tooth and gum problems, even if not deadly, can take a huge toll on an individual’s life, often affecting their diet and mood, among other things.

I wish more people could have positive experiences at the dentist like I’ve had. As much flack as we sometimes give the dentist, good oral healthcare truly is vital to a person’s well-being. Dentistry has its own unique challenges in the way of accessibility and community outreach. These nuances to dental medicine are really fascinating to me, and are yet another reason why— I must confess— I actually kind of like going to the dentist.