Tag Archives: dental cleaning

December 8, 2022 · 9:44 am

Thursday 12-8-2022

Virginia Family Dentistry

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We leave in about an hour to drive to Fort Smith for our semi-annual dental cleaning. Our dentist is wonderful. His name is Wes Moore, DDS. We have gone to him for years now, and he has taken wonderful care of us. His staff is very kind, and the experts who have cleaned our teeth couldn’t have been better. So why the image above?

I’m a wuss. I DREAD going to the dentist to the point I can’t sleep the night before and my stomach is upset right now. I had braces when I was in my teens (but the ‘fix’ didn’t last – even though I wore my retainer as instructed). I didn’t have a cavity until last year. I never had to have anything done, until last year when I also had to have a painful wisdom tooth removed. I have little rational reason for my fear.

We had a dental hygienist named Shannon for years there. She remembered everything you ever said and continued the conversation 6 months later as if it had been yesterday. She was little bitty, pretty as a daffodil and a delight to see (except for her being at the dentist). Suddenly she was gone, killed in a private plane crash with her husband. She exists fondly in my mind, and I forget that we’ve lost such a beautiful person until the next time we get our teeth cleaned, when that fact has to be faced again.

Our current hygienist is a very nice lady. She is gentle as she can be and your teeth are the cleanest you can imagine when she finishes. She remembers that my mom died of oral cancer and that I’m super-anxious about that, so she does the cancer check first, rather than last, so that I can breathe a huge sigh of relief for another 6 months.

Hopefully we can laugh again about my blood pressure being high. I say ‘laugh’ because after the trip from Greenwood to Ft. Smith with my husband driving us in the Vette, my stomach is in knots, I’m nauseous, and it only gets worse as I think about getting home in one piece.

My husband is a good driver, but he still drives as if he’s 25 (picture the chase scene in your favorite movie) not altering his habits, still impatient at all the other drivers that are in his way – ‘dragging their feet.’ We have had ‘discussions’ when we are both calmer, with my suggesting that I would feel a LOT more comfortable if we 1) took the truck instead of the Vette, 2) if he would drive as if I were his little old granny, 3) etc. He thinks I’m overreacting, of course. I remember that he has had two strokes and has had a few problems since then, mainly with backing into things.

Our discussions haven’t made a difference, so I plant my feet strategically, bracing for a crash, hold onto whatever is available, try to say absolutely nothing, and close my eyes when it gets too much, being thankful if we get to where we’re going in one piece, and then back, with no tickets.

If you’re still reading, thanks. :0) If not, that’s okay, too. I’ll talk with you again later – assuming we get back all right.

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May 26, 2022 · 9:08 am

Toothful Thursday

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I have on my calendar that my husband and I are due for teeth cleaning this morning. The dental office hadn’t called me as they usually do. It takes us 45 minutes one way to get to Ft. Smith and the dental office, so I called to make sure I had the date correct.

She checked her computer and said, “Yes, we called and you confirmed via text.” This was interesting. My husband doesn’t text. He won’t even answer his phone unless he thinks it’s me for some reason. I DO text, but I didn’t receive anything from them. She is going to look into it a bit more to see if she can find out anything. It’s a mystery. But we ARE expected.

I always get nervous about going to the dentist. I’m like a little kid. My mom died of oral cancer, so the kind hygienist checks for that first for me, rather than last, as is her usual routine. That always helps calm me down.

I’ve had one cavity in my life and that was last year. I also had to have a wisdom tooth that broke off pulled. Other than braces when I was a teenager (and the work didn’t hold – my teeth went back to being crooked even though I wore a retainer for a year or so after the work was done). That’s the total history of my teeth. I have no real reason for the fear, but logic doesn’t help.

All Pro Dental

Fingers crossed that I don’t have another cavity or any sign of oral cancer. I will feel much better when this cleaning is behind me and I don’t have to worry about it for another 6 months.

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March 9, 2020 · 7:32 pm

The Birthday Marathon Continues

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Our day started with our semi-annual dental cleaning. Not really the way I would CHOOSE to spend the morning of my actual birthday, but it’s important and was right down the road from Red Lobster, where we enjoyed my birthday lunch together today. The good news is – no oral cancer (my mom died of this) and no cavities or problems. The surprising news – the bill I thought was fully paid for my husband’s implant in November and crown in February was NOT paid in full – only the first part. So today was much more expensive than we thought it would be. It’s paid now, so that is behind us.

Driving out of the parking lot proved to be quite hair-raising. My husband almost pulled out in front of a car that was almost right upon us. We both managed to avoid the problem, but it really got our attention. WHEW!

Lunch at Red Lobster was glorious. We both enjoyed the special biscuits they’re famous for. I had lobster tail and broccoli. My husband had fish and chips. He had an apple crisp with ice cream for dessert. I had chocolate ‘wave’ cake.

“When I grow up I want to be an old woman.” — Michelle Shocked

“Wisdom is the reward for surviving our own stupidity.” — Brian Rathbone

I brought home a biscuit plus most of the cake to enjoy later. I DO enjoy a birthday marathon…

“It is lovely to meet an old person whose face is deeply lined, a face that has been deeply inhabited, to look in the eyes and find light there.” — John O-Donohue

We had left the house at 10:00. We didn’t get home until almost 3:00. We were both pooped, so I texted our good friends that we weren’t going to go bowling tonight. I sat down with a cup of coffee in my chair in the living room. The next thing I knew, it was 5:00.

6IEE

“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.”~ Sophia Loren

We will eat some dinner in a few minutes, but I have had a truly wonderful celebration of another year added to my tally.

“As long as I am breathing, in my eyes, I am just beginning.” — Criss Jami

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September 20, 2018 · 9:35 am

Devoting the Day to Dental Care

Healthline

It takes us almost an hour to get to our dentist’s office in Fort Smith. My husband and I have back-to-back teeth cleaning appointments, and then we drive back, doing the rest of our errands on the way home. That almost kills the whole day. Such is the exciting life of the Arkansas Lewises.

I no longer have trouble sleeping the night before I go to the dentist. Since I’m older than dirt, this means a LOT of lost hours in the past! I’ve never had a cavity and had never had anything done to my teeth, other than braces, until last year, so I didn’t have a good reason to be afraid. Telling myself I’m being silly, childish, a wuss, etc. has never been very effective against gut feelings.

My husband’s teeth are not strong. He’s had a LOT of work done over the years – some of it in the Marine Corps – so he always finds the very best dentist he can, trying to be very proactive. We lucked into Dr. Chancey in Ft. Smith when we moved here over 30 years ago. He retired, and my husband was  very upset. He asked Dr. Chancey who HE would go to for the very best care of HIS teeth. Without hesitation, he said, Dr. Wes Moore. We were accepted as patients and have gone there ever since.

My husband and my son had regular checkups and work done, when needed. I tried to avoid the issue. Finally, my husband said he would make a deal with me. He would wear a motorcycle helmet if I would start going to the dentist. Since we had been having frank ‘discussions’ about the fact that I really didn’t like the idea of his riding without a helmet, I reluctantly agreed.

My mom died of oral cancer, having smoked for some 50+ years, so this is a constant fear that it’s genetic, rather than smoking-related. Shannon, our good dental hygienist remembered what I told her the first time I met her, and did my oral cancer exam first, so that I could then relax as much as possible for the rest of the appointment. She was competent, gentle, and got me over my fear. She and her husband died in a plane crash and my husband and I were devastated. Dr. Moore is really good about finding the nicest, most qualified people to work in his office, so he found another good hygienist to take care of us and Shannon’s other patients.

We had been watching one of my wisdom teeth for quite a while. Dr. Moore had told me that, because it was only peeking out of the gum, I would have to go to an oral surgeon if I ever needed it removed. I thought, “when pigs fly….” Well, it not only started hurting, it hurt with a vengeance! He was out of town, but we waited until he was back. My husband called and told the ladies we would be there in an hour and that Dr. Moore had to see me. (Yes, he really did!) Dr. Moore saw me, saw how much pain I was in, and looked at the area again. He agreed to take it out. He used a magic stuff where I knew what was going on so I could cooperate, but it didn’t hurt and I didn’t remember afterward. I asked him if I could take some of that wonderful stuff with me when I left. :0)

We’ve been extremely lucky in dentists twice, and are extremely grateful. Shannon got me over being petrified at the dentist’s office, and we’re newly sad each time we go. Dr. Moore showed me that extraction can be done compassionately, without pain. We don’t EVER take good care like this for granted.

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