Dentists, dentists... bloody dentists
I am terrified of dentists. I was one of those unlucky kids who had a dodgy dentist in the seventies. The ones who did stuff because they got paid loads by the NHS or someone for every filling etc. He even told my mum that I had too many teeth and he needed to take a few out! How fucked is that!

Then after avoiding dentists for years in my mid twenties I went to my dentist and he gave me seven fillings in one hour session. When he'd finished he towered over me as I lay whimpering in the chair and said:

'That will teach you to visit the dentist more often.'

Bastard.

So I avoided dentists for another million years until recently, now aged 39, I was on my honeymoon in New York and the most unbeleivable toothache came on. I couldn't even talk. My wife arranged me an emergency appointment at a NY dentist. Amazing. They have TV and everything. The dento was great. He drawled in his NY accent that 'your tooth is rotten to the bone. Rotten to the bone. You have to have it out.' He couldn't take it out though as our travel insurance didn't cover it. I paid them fifty dollars, they gave me antibiotics and mega pain-killers.

Back in Blighty I went to a dentist, in Hackney, and a really sweet Russian guy removed the tooth, practically painlessly and sorted some other stuff out. He explained every detail and although it cost some things are a lot better. The worst bit was seeing the dental hygenist who cleaned my teeth, industrial-wise. I've still got stuff needs doing but I will get it done when I can afford it again.

Sorry for the length and boredom of this post but I had to get it out. The point is: Take care of your teeth. Go private if you can and as an adult you find that dentists aren't that bad really.
(kevon45uk, Fri 3 Nov 2006, 8:50, Reply)