Ok. Get a cup of coffee and relax for a little short story.
To say I LOATHE going to the dentist for any reason is an understatement. I am 66 years old and most every dental visit has been just short of a nightmare. Pain, discomfort, residual after affects, you name it. Always a given for a dental appointment for me. My sister in Florida has worked for many years as an assistant to Dr. Olbina with Amelia Gentle Dentistry. She has been the brunt of many animated reenactments of my terrible dental experiences. She always says to me that it shouldn't be that way and my response is that it always is.
Now, I will cut to the chase as to why I am spending my time typing this. Only a few times in your life will you feel an out of body experience with a "knight in shining armor" let's say. I was at my regular dentist getting a filling replaced and in the process he cracked the tooth rendering it useless. He said I would need to go straight to the oral surgeon to have it extracted. UGH!! A few years back I had an implant attempt go badly wrong with the oral surgeon he was recommending and I believe my comment was "I will rot in this chair before I will go anywhere near that surgeon. He used my shoulder as a foot brace trying to remove a tooth last time. Call someone else."
He called Dr. Gilardetti. I had to drive across town from the dentist to Dr. Gilardetti's office with cotton balls in my mouth and the novocaine wearing off. I was shaking and terrified of the impending nightmare of tooth removal and was in tears of pain by the time I got to the receptionist at Dr. Gilardetti's office. She brought me right in to the chair and Dr. Gilardetti's lovely assistants got me calmed down and out of pain and left me alone to think and dread what I was about to go through. When they came back in and noticed my eyes drooling tears, they asked if I was okay. There was country music playing so I said yes, I'm fine. The country music songs always make me cry." So, they blotted away my tears and in walks Dr. Gilardetti. He quietly walked over to say hello, glanced at the xray and commented "Yep, it is cracked. It's gotta come out." Dr. Gilardetti walked to my side, said open wide, you may feel a pinch or two. I closed my eyes, clinched and braced for what was about to happen. I barely felt a slight tug or two. Dr. Gilardetti steps away, and says, "Ok, you are all set." The assistant puts gauze in my mouth. Dr. Gilardetti tells me my gum should heal nicely without antibiotics and it is a back tooth so no need to replace it. Have a nice day. WELL, I am muffling through the gauze with a great big "ARE YOU SERIOUS? YOU PULLED THE TOOTH ALREADY? IT'S OVER?" A group "yes" and they left the room.
Now, I am sitting there in shock. This amazon of a man comes in, takes out a tooth in two yanks without me even realizing it (I thought he was checking the tooth, examining the task before him).
The onset of an overall experience of joy like never before begins. For the next few years, I continued to remember and feel the relief from fear that Dr. Gilardetti gave me that day. I had been rescued from the bowels of dental hell by a very gentle, kind, STRONG, man and I don't think I will ever forget it.
This may seem trivial to most but if any of you out there are terrified of dental visits, please, do anything you can to go to Dr. Gilardetti. read more