Friday, November 9, 2007

I need what???

Wednesday I went to the dentist. I really like my dentist (Dr Mary Beth Peaks), and the visit was going very well until the hygienist told me we really should schedule the root canal I need. WHAT??? I was in shock, and told her so. The hygienist I normally see has never mentioned this to me, nor has the dentist. I asked which tooth, and she showed me. I asked her to describe exactly what needed to be done, and she showed me, using the Xrays and a little model. Oh my, I was trying very hard not to cry. I couldn't believe I let my teeth get so bad. I always had great teeth, but with each baby, I end up skipping the occasional morning or nightly flossing and sometimes even brushing! I really couldn't understand why I was scheduled next for some surface treatment that included that tooth. Why bother if I was going to have this other thing done.

So, I said go ahead and remove what's currently scheduled and let's make an appointment for the root canal. The way she described it, the longer I waited, the more painful it was going to be. She kept trying to do the rescheduling, but the computer wouldn't let her. I sat and watched her try again and again. Finally, she nonchalantly said, "oh, you're right. I was looking at the wrong Xrays."

"What??" I wanted to make sure I understood what just happened correctly. "You mean you were looking at the wrong Xrays and I do NOT need a root canal after all????"

"That's right," she said. "You don't need it at all. I was looking at someone else's Xrays."

I wasn't the least bit angry with her. I was VERY happy that the computer had some sort of checks built in and wouldn't let her schedule the root canal needed on one Xray for another person. I also felt like I had been given another chance to save my tooth!

I floss and brush with renewed energy now. And I've added an extra little thank you into my prayers.

4 comments:

Keri said...

Oh my gosh, Laura! What if you had had that needlessly done! How grateful you must be. :) Wow.

Anonymous said...

A similar thing happened to me. Before I married, there was another Kathy Winters who went to my dentist. I found this out when the x-rays they were looking at didn't match what they saw in my mouth. I made sure that they had the right chart after that.

oofie goofie said...

I'm glad that you don't have to experience that epitomy of displeasure! That would be just about as fun as a root canal:)

Lisa said...

What a relief! : )