Flashback Friday: Dentist Edition
I've always been kind of obsessed with perfection. Unfortunately, I've never been big on actually putting forth the requisite effort in order to achieve perfection. I remember the first time I was going to get a B on a report card. I was in 4th grade and I wasn't doing that well in Social Studies. I believe it was mainly due to my trouble with maps. I don't know where states or cities are, let alone rivers.
But in all honesty, I don't think I tried that hard. I just expected to get an A because that's how it should be. When I found out that I was getting a B+ I felt as though life as I knew it was over. And in a way, it was. I remember going home and lying on the couch, staring at the ceiling, and crying until I could cry no more. I thought about the long-term repercussions of this B+ and how I would never escape this black mark on my record. (I didn't.)
Anyways, I felt similarly about dental health. Getting a cavity was something akin to getting, I don't know, a D in social studies. It also means that you are bad and dirty.
I probably only had a few good years of perfect teeth, but I quickly grew accustomed to going to the dentist and having him congratulate me on my great brushing skills. But when I was maybe 6 or 7, Dr. Lis told me, very gently, that I had a little "sugarbug." I wasn't sure how or where I picked up this sugarbug, but I trusted him when he said it was no big deal and it wasn't my fault.
I was totally cool with a little sugarbug. I've never been a fan of bugs in general, but a sugar bug sounds kind of cute. Like it might be pink.
Unfortunately, it was soon brought to my attention that we needed to return to Dr. Lis so he could fill my sugarbug. That's when I got wise to this whole "sugarbug" ruse. Apparently, a sugarbug is just another word for a cavity!
I was crushed. I was so devastated that I couldn't even cry. It was so completely unreal, that I was sure I must be dreaming.
I literally got into bed that afternoon, set my alarm clock for 15 minutes later, and laid there with my eyes closed, convinced that I was having a terrible dream. I was certain that by the time the alarm went off, I would open my eyes and experience the great relief of realizing that it was all just a dream. Maybe as an added bonus it would also be Halloween.
Alas, my alarm went off, I still had a cavity, and it wasn't any kind of holiday.
Somehow, I survived. I learned to live with a few cavities, and a few more B's on report cards. But I'm not ruling out the possibility that the last 2 decades of my life may have been a very long dream and I will wake up tomorrow and still be 6 years old with perfect teeth. I'm going to set my alarm just in case.
But in all honesty, I don't think I tried that hard. I just expected to get an A because that's how it should be. When I found out that I was getting a B+ I felt as though life as I knew it was over. And in a way, it was. I remember going home and lying on the couch, staring at the ceiling, and crying until I could cry no more. I thought about the long-term repercussions of this B+ and how I would never escape this black mark on my record. (I didn't.)
Anyways, I felt similarly about dental health. Getting a cavity was something akin to getting, I don't know, a D in social studies. It also means that you are bad and dirty.
I probably only had a few good years of perfect teeth, but I quickly grew accustomed to going to the dentist and having him congratulate me on my great brushing skills. But when I was maybe 6 or 7, Dr. Lis told me, very gently, that I had a little "sugarbug." I wasn't sure how or where I picked up this sugarbug, but I trusted him when he said it was no big deal and it wasn't my fault.
I was totally cool with a little sugarbug. I've never been a fan of bugs in general, but a sugar bug sounds kind of cute. Like it might be pink.
Unfortunately, it was soon brought to my attention that we needed to return to Dr. Lis so he could fill my sugarbug. That's when I got wise to this whole "sugarbug" ruse. Apparently, a sugarbug is just another word for a cavity!
I was crushed. I was so devastated that I couldn't even cry. It was so completely unreal, that I was sure I must be dreaming.
I literally got into bed that afternoon, set my alarm clock for 15 minutes later, and laid there with my eyes closed, convinced that I was having a terrible dream. I was certain that by the time the alarm went off, I would open my eyes and experience the great relief of realizing that it was all just a dream. Maybe as an added bonus it would also be Halloween.
Alas, my alarm went off, I still had a cavity, and it wasn't any kind of holiday.
Somehow, I survived. I learned to live with a few cavities, and a few more B's on report cards. But I'm not ruling out the possibility that the last 2 decades of my life may have been a very long dream and I will wake up tomorrow and still be 6 years old with perfect teeth. I'm going to set my alarm just in case.
Labels: nightmares, teeth
posted by lady at 7:11 PM
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