Well, here it is. Monday morning. Could life get any lousier than a Monday morning?
How about a Monday morning dentist appointment?
Hands up. How many of you guys get a cold sweat when you think about going to the dentist? "What will they find? What will they tell me?"
So you "quit" the night before. That'll fool 'em, sure! Extra flossing, extra brushing. Minty fresh. They might tell you your gums are receding, but that just happens, right? Besides, they've been talking about stuff like gum grafts for years, but nothing's ever come of it, so...
So maybe you wake up and gut it out. You go and white-knuckle your way through it. And as soon as your cleaning is done, you're out to your car and ripping open that can to throw one in.
Or maybe you cancel. Not that I've done that more than two or three times in a row. You really don't need your teeth cleaned that often, anyways. That's what I told myself, at least. It's just a scam, that's how they make their money. You can go every couple of years, really. If I ignore it hard enough, it's not there, right?
Fucking addicts, amirite?
I haven't had to do that mental dance for four years, now, and it feels WONDERFUL.
I just go to the dentist.
I tell my hygienist - Marge, a really great lady - I tell Marge my day count when I get into the room.
She checks me out and I know that I'm taking care of myself. Not like that idiot Addict Sam who used to go years without a checkup, let alone a cleaning.
If there's something wrong, we fix it. There was a point a couple of years ago where the doc noticed something wonky. Ended up avoiding a double root canal.
Yeah, THAT would have been fun.
You all are 20-50 days into your quit now, I think. Your mouth feels weird. I know - mine did, too. You're thinking "Crap, I quit, now I have mouth cancer?"
You don't. You know who can tell you? You know who can put your mind at ease?
Your dentist
Marge says hello, BTW. Time for me to get that cleaning.
You should think about getting it done, too. Trust me - you'll feel better for it.
