Susanne Remic is a primary school teacher, freelance writer and parenting blogger. She writes at Ghostwritermummy and Maternity Matters and in between all of that she regularly wins mummy of the year awards for running around after her two children, aged six and 19 months. This is her pregnancy blog: an online diary of her third pregnancy as she strives to overcome two difficult births, one angel child and one awkward toddler. Join Susanne as she shares every step of her journey from bump to baby!
The dentist and the pink toothbrush
By Susanne Remic on 10 Oct 2011
No offence if you’re a dentist, but I don’t like them. Or rather, I don’t like what they do. Who on earth decided, upon leaving school, that they wanted to stare down a variety of throats for a living? All those teeth of different shades and conditions...
Sure, the clean, white ones nestling in fresh smelling mouths wouldn’t be so bad, but the rest? No thanks. So, in my view dentists are a little strange to begin with, and that’s before they start brandishing drills and poking devices.
A procedure at the dentist hurts. It also sets my teeth on edge. The thought of it makes me feel physically sick. I don’t have a phobia or anything, it’s just that visiting the dentist is not something I look forward to at all. But it is something I class as very important, damn it.
I’m lucky to have myself and the kids registered at an NHS dental practise. The husband? He can fight for his own place- it’s a dog eat dog world since they all went private. So, the kids and I are registered and we get called once a year to have a check up. Only, now that I’m pregnant again, I think I need to book an extra appointment.
It’s called ‘pink toothbrush’ apparently. Bleeding gums are common during pregnancy but should never be ignored, apparently. Pregnant women are entitled to free dental appointments because gum disease can be an unfortunate side-effect of pregnancy, along with the piles and so on. Lovely. I certainly don’t think I need a filling or anything but I do think a check up wouldn’t hurt. It’s just that... I don’t like dentists.
Maybe I’m paranoid? Maybe he will tell me that actually I do need fillings- a whole mouthful in fact. Maybe I need a big massive drill and a huge scraping instrument to attack my gums and teeth without pain relief? Maybe all my teeth need pulling out and replacing with big Dennis Waterman type falsies. Maybe my teeth are the worst he’s ever seen and he no longer wants me on his patient list?
Pregnancy has made me paranoid about my teeth. I scour Groupon for laser whitening deals in my local area. I buy polishes and pearl drops and dental floss like it’s going out of fashion. I spend ages perusing the mouth wash section in the toothbrush aisle. I time myself and my daughter whilst we brush and don’t even get me started on the sleepless nights linked to the fact that my son has developed a sudden aversion to brushing. All this to avoid the one person who can actually put my mind at rest.
At my last appointment, my (lovely) dentist told me that I had really good, strong teeth and that my gums had recovered well from my last pregnancy. He told me that at my age he would expect to see a lot more fillings. I didn’t get a sticker though...
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