dentists are cool. going to the dentist is lame.

i had to go to the dentist today. routine, twice a year cleaning. no big deal. i don't hate the dentist (not anymore. i used to, but i'm over that nonsense. gotta keep the teeth correct), but there is something lame about the whole 'going to the dentist' experience. same goes with going to doctors and i suppose any and all medical related happenings. the dentist is never fun. it's like medicine. it's supposed to suck but only cuz it's good for you. but it's not immensely awful either. dental technology has never been better and it's always improving. they've really worked out a lot of the kinks.

but it's the waking up early to do it. it's the sitting around in a waiting room for an hour even though you showed up 15 minutes early for your appointment. it's the several month old magazines that i don't wanna read on the table in the waiting room. it's the facebook news feed that people won't post updates onto fast enough to occupy my mind while i'm here. it's sitting in a chair with my mouth wide open for 30 minutes while two other human beings shove dental instruments and fingers in there.

"everything okay?"

"sure is!"

and i wonder if they can make out the words at all so i always give 'em an enthusiastic thumbs up. even if it was awful, i'd probably give 'em the thumbs up. i'd hate to kill their morale. imagine a dentist having a shitty day at work? it's got to happen. it happens to everybody so dentists can't be immune to it. you wake up, feel shitty or something shitty happened. you go to work and tell yourself, "fuck it. i'm half-assing this workday right here." i want no part in having anything to do with a dentist's shitty day so i do my part to play nice and stay positive.

and for all i could tell, my dentist was having a good day. and i've lucked out cuz every time i go she seems to be having a good day cuz i never get the sense that she's half-assing it (she also likes to hum to the pop music playing over the speakers, which i always take as a sign of comfort). and i'm grateful. but i found out i have two cavities and that sorta bums me the fuck out. i brush twice a day. i floss everyday. but i'm doing something wrong. and now i have to come back. back to the waiting room. back to my mouth wide open with instruments being shoved into the innards of my teeth. there'll be novocaine and a numb jaw. then i'll have to schedule my next routine cleaning with an impaired ability to talk correctly. cuz that's what going to the dentist seems to be all about. me being put into positions where i can't talk clearly.

but dentists rule. and you should really go to one. the whole thing is lame just like a lot of other lame things i suppose, like doctors and trips to the dmv and getting a ride somewhere far with that friend who loves maroon 5. but don't take it out on your dentist. that's an honorable profession. i don't want any part in sticking my fingers in people's filthy mouths, large stacks of money be damned. i'm just glad there's someone who does.