bcjch
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 21, 2015
- Messages
- 103
- Location
- Dallas, TX, USA, metro area
Hi all, I have a dumb question - with plenty of added sarcasm and facetiousness - for those of you who have conquered fear enough to visit the dentist and differentiate. Who did you have a worse experience with, a dentist or a hygienist?
I'm not sure exactly what the lingo is across the pond, but here in the USA, a hygienist is an assistant that helps the dentist during procedures, takes the x-rays, and does cleanings. I've seen many of you mention the dentist's "nurse" in posts - is this what the "nurse" does?
Maybe it's unfair to compare dentists to hygienists because the hygienists do most of the work, but they tend to put me off more than the actual dentist.
I've had too much dental work done over the years, but I think the worst thing was dealing with a hygienist a few years ago, who I swear put a pick between 2 back teeth and twisted it. Needless to say, I yowled pretty good, which launched her into an I've-been-doing-this-for-15-years-so-pipe-down-and-sit-still spiel. Thankfully, I didn't have to deal with Conan the Hygienist again. However, during a follow-up appointment, I was left alone in the chair briefly and could see my treatment history and notes - with an insertion from that hygienist about how uncooperative and defiant I was. (I quit going to that dentist shortly thereafter - with additional reasons for my action.)
During one of my typical cleanings, about 2 dozen scrapes (or blasts from that water tool, whichever) into it, I'm rinsing because I have a mouthful of blood. They always say, "You have unhealthy gums." And that, of course, is the perfect cover for them missing whatever they were aiming for, or jabbing me when something dislodges from my tooth and the pick slips. By that standard, who doesn't have unhealthy gums? Only somebody who could crack a walnut with them without using any teeth to help.
Oh, and then there's the part where they probe along gums, and the hygienist doing the probing calls out a number (indicating relative gum health) to another one who records it. Low numbers are better, but mine always seem to be high. It still seems artificial, though. After all, my gums are getting jabbed with a sharp instrument. What do they expect to happen, the tip of the pick to bend backward onto itself? If that's the case, does anyone know a dentist that will resolder my gums?
I have habitually put off regular cleanings and been able to get away with it - until now. I've told parts of the story behind the most recent one in another thread, and it didn't really involve someone bad ... but the hygienist who worked with me was saying I was soooooooooooo much more cooperative when numbed by injection. (I really wanted to slap her ...)
It seems like these people's most nightmarish day is brought on by a squirming patient like me. I can't be the only patient that does this, though, so how do hygienists cope with their personal half dozen daily doses of hell? (By returning it, it seems ...) Or are most patients the type who go sit in the chair, get this blank stare, maybe drool a little, and remain in some sort of stupor until it's all over - and we on this forum are the few exceptions?
I'm not sure exactly what the lingo is across the pond, but here in the USA, a hygienist is an assistant that helps the dentist during procedures, takes the x-rays, and does cleanings. I've seen many of you mention the dentist's "nurse" in posts - is this what the "nurse" does?
Maybe it's unfair to compare dentists to hygienists because the hygienists do most of the work, but they tend to put me off more than the actual dentist.
I've had too much dental work done over the years, but I think the worst thing was dealing with a hygienist a few years ago, who I swear put a pick between 2 back teeth and twisted it. Needless to say, I yowled pretty good, which launched her into an I've-been-doing-this-for-15-years-so-pipe-down-and-sit-still spiel. Thankfully, I didn't have to deal with Conan the Hygienist again. However, during a follow-up appointment, I was left alone in the chair briefly and could see my treatment history and notes - with an insertion from that hygienist about how uncooperative and defiant I was. (I quit going to that dentist shortly thereafter - with additional reasons for my action.)
During one of my typical cleanings, about 2 dozen scrapes (or blasts from that water tool, whichever) into it, I'm rinsing because I have a mouthful of blood. They always say, "You have unhealthy gums." And that, of course, is the perfect cover for them missing whatever they were aiming for, or jabbing me when something dislodges from my tooth and the pick slips. By that standard, who doesn't have unhealthy gums? Only somebody who could crack a walnut with them without using any teeth to help.
Oh, and then there's the part where they probe along gums, and the hygienist doing the probing calls out a number (indicating relative gum health) to another one who records it. Low numbers are better, but mine always seem to be high. It still seems artificial, though. After all, my gums are getting jabbed with a sharp instrument. What do they expect to happen, the tip of the pick to bend backward onto itself? If that's the case, does anyone know a dentist that will resolder my gums?
I have habitually put off regular cleanings and been able to get away with it - until now. I've told parts of the story behind the most recent one in another thread, and it didn't really involve someone bad ... but the hygienist who worked with me was saying I was soooooooooooo much more cooperative when numbed by injection. (I really wanted to slap her ...)
It seems like these people's most nightmarish day is brought on by a squirming patient like me. I can't be the only patient that does this, though, so how do hygienists cope with their personal half dozen daily doses of hell? (By returning it, it seems ...) Or are most patients the type who go sit in the chair, get this blank stare, maybe drool a little, and remain in some sort of stupor until it's all over - and we on this forum are the few exceptions?