A Good Dentist Visit
I just got back from the best dentist appointment. (never thought I’d say THAT!)
My new hygienist, Bianca at Dentists of El Cerrito, was great.
First, she was nice.
She did a cleaning and…. it… didn’t… hurt! What????
I noticed that the ultrasonic tool she used sounded different… a bit quieter than I’ve heard/felt in the past. I asked her after the treatment and she talked about how some people turn the machine up or down and press harder or less. Well, whatever she did, I’m happy!
There were a few moments of zinging nerve pain, about a “6” on the pain-o-meter, but other than that, the pain level was all 1-3 on a scale from 1-10!
Of course, I popped 3 ibuprofen before the appointment, as normal. (call it a pro-tip?)
But the best part was that she said, “You don’t have to come back in 4 months. I want to see you in 6 months.” What?! It’s a good teeth day!
My brushing regimen:
- Brushing about 10 times a week
- Flossing about 5 times a week (I use a floss holder and almost never change the floss, I just wipe it on my tongue)
- Water pik about 5 times a week (set to 9 out of 10. Watching the food gunk fall out of my mouth is so revealing)
- High fluoride toothpaste about 2 times a week (my dentist said “why do you want that?” I said “’cause it can’t hurt”
My last hygienist, Sheena, was good too. But this visit was the most painless eva’. Before that, I went to a dentist where the hygenist used a different power tool and a lot more manual scraping and it hurt A LOT. I’d track the pain as a constant 5-6 with a few spectacular 7’s and 8’s. After I asked a bit, they gave me a lidocaine gel. That helped, bringing the pain down to 3’s and 4’s. They also tried giving me Cyclorinse but that didn’t help the pain at all.
I’ve got some gingival pockets from not flossing until I was about 30 years old. So I’ve been kind of obsessed with having not-that-bad teeth.
