I don’t know about you but I’ve got that irrational fear of the dentist thing going on. I have an unusually small sized mouth (obviously only the literal version) and I remember as a youngster visiting the dentist to remove a tooth every couple of years to make room for a basic set of choppers. This novel orthodontia approach seems to have worked since for the most part I’ve been a happy masticator. That is until a few months ago when a partial repair of a previously chipped tooth began to fall apart in miniature pieces, bite sized ones.
This morning Dr. Lily Siu expertly worked through my scared stare to suggest a porcelain crown. Sure, my dental insurance pays half of the $1,250 price tag, so I agreed. Before I could barely realize what voluntary torture I had agreed to pay for, she had me inclined way back in the elongated lawn chair. Swiftly she dabbed the gum around my upper right molar with some gooey sweet stuff and then gave me a shot with a long needle that didn’t hurt at all because my eyes were squeezed way shut. I never open my eyes when she works on me. Today I actually fell asleep (exhausted yet again from a quick drive-by coffee moment yesterday with a woman who every time I see her, I toss and turn into the wee hours; trust me that even for a clever manipulate-control aficionada like me, this one is way out of my control) while this procedure took place. Didn’t feel a thing–truly.
My gum numbed up immediately and so out came the drills. She worked steadily to grind the tooth so a freshly minted porcelain crown would fit beautifully over my birth original. While she worked, a distinct burning smell wafted into my nose. And the sound of those drills is so, well, offensive. I almost started laughing at the sitcom-nature of anybody sitting in a dentist’s chair enduring that shrill attack on otherwise peaceful chunks of bone peacefully hanging out in your mouth. Lucky me that Dr. Siu is amazingly talented, so everything was chop-chop done quickly.
On my way out, Vanessa made sure to smile as she scheduled me for the follow up visit in three weeks. Right now I’m just wearing a temporary crown. Was that a sadistic smile when she said the next visit will take at least two hours? This meeting whizzed by in one short 60 minute period. So happy was I for the brief interlude with this place that I almost whistled on my way out. Since my gum was too sore to accomplish this I thought why not explore the neighborhood some, a sort of treat for surviving the torture.
Just a few doors down I discovered the West Portal Bakery. They sliced up a loaf of still warm wheat sour dough. Delicious stuff and especially soft to chew–lucky me. Better yet they toasted a blueberry cream danish that was awesome with a strong cup of joe. I was starting to like going to the dentist. Polishing off the treats, I sauntered back to my car. And then I saw it–a store devoted entirely to selling board games. Huh?
I hadn’t taken more than a few steps inside when a spritely young man without a hair out of place and probably half my size (can’t seem to lose weight as I had hoped, so I’m a pretty hefty girl right now) asked me if I’d like to play the game I was staring at–”Dumb Ass.” Within a minute, we sat at a small table and he read me a trivia pursuit question. And, yes, I knew the accurate answer–the Pentagon. I read him a card and he hopped off his chair, honestly, while replying, “Pamela Anderson.” This guy likes games. No, he loves games and I was absolutely happy that I walked in by accident. He showed me two other games that we also played for a few minutes. Then he showed me a rock game similar to tic-tac-toe but much more clever and engaging. He had invented this game while serving time in the Army overseas and watching Iraqi children play. Alright, so the guy’s a sort of genius for fun. Who opens a board game store in a recession and keeps laughing? Wonderful business to stroll through and spend time–an unexpected visit to a local Willy Wonka factory minus the candy production. See for yourself at Just Awesome in West Portal. Who knew a scary dentist visit could be so fun?
