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My Kind of Dentist

A while back, I was looking for a new dentist. I had actually missed a couple of appointments with the previous dentist, and I wasn't particularly thrilled with the original one. So, I figured I'd hunt around for a new dentist, and give that person a try. In the worst case, I could just switch back. It seemed like a pretty reasonable plan, but little did I know what in store for me.

It started out much the same as any other doctor appointment: with paperwork. I filled out my information, waited for my turn, and then sauntered in when they called my name. That's when things started to get interesting. Since I hadn't ever been to that particular office before, they needed to get x-rays of my teeth. I'd done that before, so I wasn't surprised (though I've never been a big fan of the process). However, the assistant who helped me did raise an eyebrow.

You see, she had a super raspy voice. I noticed right away, but I didn't say anything. What was I going to do? Offer her a throat lozenge? However, she did apologize up front if she couldn't quite give me directions properly; she'd gone to a concert in the last couple of days, and her voice hadn't recovered yet. That wasn't at all what I expected, but I rolled with the punches. What concert had she attended? Linkin Park. Now, if you don't know this about me, I happen to like a bunch of their music.  Curiouser and curiouser. What were the odds? This was especially true since a lot of people I know make fun of that band for being too emo. I remember thinking, "huh. This place might be all right."

Of course, the fun didn't stop there. When the actual dentist came in, she started to clean my teeth, like dentists are wont to do. As she was doing this, music was playing in the speaker system. I didn't pay it much attention, until she stopped, cocked her head, and muttered, "what the hell is it doing? That's not very soothing." Now I didn't much care, but I was amused by the turn of events. Just seemed funny that the music was rebelling somehow. Luckily, the next song was much more relaxing, so all was right in the world again. Not ten minutes later, though, a different patient on her way out said, "oh, and this music is the best! It's so calming." The dentist and I looked at each other and we both burst out laughing. The set up was too perfect, and the timing was spot-on. We couldn't have written it any better.

That wasn't even the last of the laughs, either. As she was finishing up, the dentist also asked me how often I flossed, like dentists do. I was honest with her: I was usually pretty good about it when I had work the next day. Something about the routine made it easy to remember to floss. On the weekend, though, all bets were off.  The easiest way to explain this, however, was, "yeah, usually Monday through Friday." She straight up laughed at me. When I explained why, she laughed some more and cracked a joke about bacteria taking the weekend off. Me being me, I couldn't help but laugh along. She had a point, after all.

When my appointment was finished, I chuckled to myself. The assistant showed up to work with half a voice after going to a concert for music I liked, and the dentist had no qualms about making fun of me. Like the title of the post said, I think this is my kind of dentistry practice. Oh, and I've also gotten much better about flossing on a regular basis. Funny how that worked out ...

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