Wordless Wednesday - Humor at the dentist

 How can you find humor at the dentist? Think outside the box.

The Dental Visit

Wellness Wednesday – National Smile Month

The month of May is celebrated as National Smile Month. This day was established by the Oral Health Foundation to raise awareness of important health issues. And it serves as an opportunity to flash your bright smile after a dental cleaning (just my opinion).

During my last dental cleaning, the hygienist asked how my adult sons were doing. She reminisced about the times my younger son would visit for his cleaning. He was about three or four years old at the time she recalled. “He would hop in the chair, no apprehensions, and after a short while he was asleep.”

A few years older, my son was still relaxed enough to fall asleep. The dentist and hygienist liked the antics of my son, but I was the one who got in trouble for his smile. I was told, “Mom, you have to brush his teeth for him when he doesn’t do it.” I don’t think they understood my struggle. I tried to brush his teeth; I got a few of them brushed before he twisted and turned.

Fast forward fifteen years or so I’ve still said a time or two, “Did you make your dental appointment?”

His response was, “Ma, I’ve got it from here.”

That’s when I realized, this phase of my parenting was done. The condition of my son’s smile was now in his hands.

What will you do to observe National Smile Month? Dental Health.org has ideas for celebrating. If you have grandchildren or know of young children, one idea that sounds fun is to write a letter to the tooth fairy.

For adults who want to show support, take a smiling selfie, and post it to social media. There is a “Smiliey” background that Dental Health would like you to use. If you’re interested in more details about National Smile Month, click here.

Keep your smile healthy and brighten someone’s day by flashing your smile at them. 

Monday Musings – Finding Humor in a Dental Visit During a Pandemic

Photo Credit: California Dental Association

It’s tough finding a new normal as the world works it’s way through a pandemic. We still need to schedule doctor’s appointments, dental appointments, and focus on our health. It’s been a rollercoaster ride that no one wanted to take. What can we do? We can find humor wherever it lurks. Here’s my story…

I Had my first visit to the dentist after the quarantine and the office reopened. A new dentist joined the practice. He told me, “I’m going to do a complete exam on you today, that means x-rays, checking your jaw line and cleaning your teeth.”

He rubbed his hands along my neck, then circular motions around my jaw line, then circular motions at the temple of my forehead. While he was doing this, he asked, “Any pain here?”

“No, actually that felt good, could you do the back of my neck too?”

He moved on to the x-rays…that’s when he brought out the bullet proof vest, I mean, that weighted blanket/vest type thing. You know the thing they drape over you, then leave the room so they’re not exposed to the radiation.

By the time the dentist actually started cleaning my teeth I was settled in. As he laid the dental chair back, he asked, “Would you like a pillow?”

He placed that pillow under my head, and it was all over for me. I relaxed – every – muscle- in my body…and I fell asleep, three times. He kept saying, “Open please.”

At the end of my visit he sent me home with a teeny tiny, thimble size sealed cup with something that looked like toothpaste in it.

“When you get home, put a little water in this, it’s grainy like. Brush it across your teeth, then rinse.”

“So, I have to finishing cleaning my teeth myself? Do I get a discount?

How are you surviving appointments during a pandemic?