C
Cookierobots
Junior member
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2022
- Messages
- 15
- Location
- US
I've checked out this forum many times in the last year. Twelve years, lots of life changes, many bouts of depression, and the sudden death of my young dog finally led to me making an appointment for ~ two weeks from now. I tried in the summer, last July after browsing and getting inspiration from the posts here, I called our local clinic for an appointment. They said they were revamping their dental practice and they would put me on a wait-list for October. I agreed to go on the wait-list but looked into private practices nearby to see if I felt good about any of them. I called two and left voicemails but could only work up the nerve the email the third office. Later I thought about the email and felt that I had shared too much in listing all the things that I know need work and I lost my nerve completely to follow up. I never even heard back from that office so maybe I was right and I had freaked them out with my laundry list of oral issues...? One of the other offices called me back a whopping six weeks later but I had moved back into my denial phase by then and decided I didn't need to return their call, and also decided that they are probably not the best practice waiting that long to call someone back during their time of need. I decided that I would wait for the clinic to call. I would die waiting if I had to! Hah kidding but I felt safe in my denial and not having to act on anything. Everything was fine and life was dandy, I've not even been in any pain so what could be wrong, truly??
Well time went by and the clinic never called. I was pleased about it, except for everytime I looked in the mirror or thought about going out with no mask. I started to think I never was actually put on the wait-list (remembering my year in sales and how the wait-lists would grow so long during holiday seasons and with no chance to ever catch up, we'd stop taking down names entirely) and I had just been sitting here doing nothing to improve my situation for months and months. But then life happened and my dog was suddenly very sick. I had to make some tough decisions, ones I never thought I would have to make for young healthy dog. Then, after making those decisions under mountains of stress and going back and forth in my mind about what the right move really was....I had to grieve like I never thought I would for a pet! A week or two after putting my dog down, I felt that nothing I could go through would be as hard as that just was. In all of my worst imaginings, I knew that hearing the news that she would never recover was worse than anything a dentist could tell me about how my teeth look or what I would need to do to reach a healthy place with my mouth.
So, I called the clinic, they confirmed that I am on the list and I should call back in March to see if it's my turn yet. I was so saddened by this long wait after finally deciding I would go all in, that I rushed off the phone and without thinking, called the private office that I had reached out to in July-- the one that called me back 6 weeks later, a move for which I had briefly condemned them. Though initially I judge them, I ultimately chose them as they are in walking distance of my apartment and I have been daydreaming that walking there will be less stressful than driving. I know it will be traumatic for me to sit in the car waiting for the lights, waiting to move, when I know I am headed toward facing my hugest fears.
So I called abruptly and I had not even thought about what to say upon answer, and when the receptionist picked up I just blurted that I would like to be seen as a new patient. She said "Ok let's get you in for what, a cleaning?"
And I panicked-- having told myself in my first round of calls that I would be open about my situation so there would be no surprises for me or the dental team later-- and said "Well I haven't been seen in several years so I think just take a good look and x-rays and I know that my wisdom teeth need attention... I'm just wanting to get the ball rolling on everything, so yep!" She said "Ok, let's get you in for an exam," and proceeded to schedule me a few weeks out.
Ever since I have felt a bit excited at the prospect of handling this but a lot of dread and even more discomfort that I was not really upfront about everything that's going on. I guess I don't really know how much I need to get into it, and my anxiety sky rockets when I try to speak about it; but I do feel dumb not mentioning the heavy plaque buildup that needs a deep cleaning and my back molar which dropped it's old amalgam filling over a year ago. Those aren't the only problems but they seem pretty crucial to address. Certainly that's relevant info for her to have? but I don't know if it matters to call them back since we will just be doing an assessment at my first appointment (I assume!) I've never made a dental appointment before and just hope I didn't screw it all up. I hope sharing my experience will alleviate some of the worry over it all...thanks for reading!
Well time went by and the clinic never called. I was pleased about it, except for everytime I looked in the mirror or thought about going out with no mask. I started to think I never was actually put on the wait-list (remembering my year in sales and how the wait-lists would grow so long during holiday seasons and with no chance to ever catch up, we'd stop taking down names entirely) and I had just been sitting here doing nothing to improve my situation for months and months. But then life happened and my dog was suddenly very sick. I had to make some tough decisions, ones I never thought I would have to make for young healthy dog. Then, after making those decisions under mountains of stress and going back and forth in my mind about what the right move really was....I had to grieve like I never thought I would for a pet! A week or two after putting my dog down, I felt that nothing I could go through would be as hard as that just was. In all of my worst imaginings, I knew that hearing the news that she would never recover was worse than anything a dentist could tell me about how my teeth look or what I would need to do to reach a healthy place with my mouth.
So, I called the clinic, they confirmed that I am on the list and I should call back in March to see if it's my turn yet. I was so saddened by this long wait after finally deciding I would go all in, that I rushed off the phone and without thinking, called the private office that I had reached out to in July-- the one that called me back 6 weeks later, a move for which I had briefly condemned them. Though initially I judge them, I ultimately chose them as they are in walking distance of my apartment and I have been daydreaming that walking there will be less stressful than driving. I know it will be traumatic for me to sit in the car waiting for the lights, waiting to move, when I know I am headed toward facing my hugest fears.
So I called abruptly and I had not even thought about what to say upon answer, and when the receptionist picked up I just blurted that I would like to be seen as a new patient. She said "Ok let's get you in for what, a cleaning?"
And I panicked-- having told myself in my first round of calls that I would be open about my situation so there would be no surprises for me or the dental team later-- and said "Well I haven't been seen in several years so I think just take a good look and x-rays and I know that my wisdom teeth need attention... I'm just wanting to get the ball rolling on everything, so yep!" She said "Ok, let's get you in for an exam," and proceeded to schedule me a few weeks out.
Ever since I have felt a bit excited at the prospect of handling this but a lot of dread and even more discomfort that I was not really upfront about everything that's going on. I guess I don't really know how much I need to get into it, and my anxiety sky rockets when I try to speak about it; but I do feel dumb not mentioning the heavy plaque buildup that needs a deep cleaning and my back molar which dropped it's old amalgam filling over a year ago. Those aren't the only problems but they seem pretty crucial to address. Certainly that's relevant info for her to have? but I don't know if it matters to call them back since we will just be doing an assessment at my first appointment (I assume!) I've never made a dental appointment before and just hope I didn't screw it all up. I hope sharing my experience will alleviate some of the worry over it all...thanks for reading!
.
.
