I’ve been called worse

I haven’t always disliked going to the dentist. When I was younger, my mom would drive me down to Eastman, Georgia so I could get my teeth cleaned by my uncle. These trips spark fond memories because they involved visiting with family and picking out a toy from the “Clean Teeth Club” treasure box.

However, as I’ve gotten older and moved too far to travel to the deep south for dental checkups, I have begun dreading my 6-month visits. Today was no exception. It had been a year, yes one whole year, since my last cleaning. The hygienist could not believe that I had waited so long to make an appointment. After lecturing me on the importance of dental hygiene, she proceeded to tell me various stories of patients who had lost their teeth due to poor care. Each story ended with “now you don’t want to be like that, do you hun?” 

When she wasn’t trying to scare me with stories of toothless twenty-somethings, she was going on and on about how much I looked like “Brushetta”, the toothbrush superhero who wards of plaque and decay with her sidekick Flossy. She could not believe how much I resembled this character and it was obvious that she got a kick out of it. Before I left, she rounded up several dentists and hygienist’s to show off our resemblance. They all got a good laugh at it, but agreed that Brushetta would never wait a year between cleanings.

As I was leaving the office, I was given a complimentary copy of  “How to care for your toddlers teeth” and a final lecture on the importance of regular dental visits. I guess they didn’t want my negligence to affect my daughter. The whole ordeal was bizarre to say the least. If anything else, we have got to move back south so I can return to “normal” dentist visits. A visit where I am not scolded; a visit where I am not compared to a dental superhero named Brushetta.

NOTE: I’ve spent the last hour trying to find a picture of Brushetta on the American Dental Association’s web site. Much to my dismay, Ive been unable to locate one. However, I do have some cute pics of MR playing with an oakleaf hydrangea on the front porch. She played with the flower long enough for me to clean out the car, water the outside plants, and sweep the porch. I’m seriously considering cutting down more the whole bush for her to play with on our 8 hour trip back to Georgia tomorrow!