The Dentist
I used to wonder who in their right mind would want to be a dentist. What little boy or girl dreams of filling teeth as their lifetime career? There was that little boy/elf on the Rudolph cartoon (Hermey) but that's all I can think of.
But today my own dentist unknowingly shined some light on the subject for me. Yes, I had to go to the dentist today. Thankfully I have never dreaded dental visits. My childhood dentist, Dr. Ware, was wonderful! And I am so thankful to have a really kind dentist these days too.
So off I went to find out why, oh why, I have pain in my tooth when I drink cold drinks (which is a lot; ever try to brush your teeth with warm water? Doesn't feel as 'fresh'.) I had visions of cavities upon cavities, or else root canals - which my older sister has just gone through, and no thank you I don't care to! But after x-rays and examining my teeth and gums, the kind doctor said, there's nothing wrong here. What? No holes? No problems. Nope - most likely the pain comes from clenching my teeth/jaw, which most people do. Or else bite their nails, he added.
He then went into a nice explanation about what to watch for - sensitivity to heat, long lasting pain - and the why of it all. And this is where it got interesting! This is why someone might actually want to be a dentist someday. I can't explain it to you verbatim - my non-scientific, non-dental mind got the gist of what he was saying though. There is pulp in our teeth (really) and when it gets infected it swells and pinches the nerves, which somehow makes it die. Or something like that. It was quite interesting to learn. And maybe some of you already knew this. But I learned something today.
But today my own dentist unknowingly shined some light on the subject for me. Yes, I had to go to the dentist today. Thankfully I have never dreaded dental visits. My childhood dentist, Dr. Ware, was wonderful! And I am so thankful to have a really kind dentist these days too.
So off I went to find out why, oh why, I have pain in my tooth when I drink cold drinks (which is a lot; ever try to brush your teeth with warm water? Doesn't feel as 'fresh'.) I had visions of cavities upon cavities, or else root canals - which my older sister has just gone through, and no thank you I don't care to! But after x-rays and examining my teeth and gums, the kind doctor said, there's nothing wrong here. What? No holes? No problems. Nope - most likely the pain comes from clenching my teeth/jaw, which most people do. Or else bite their nails, he added.
He then went into a nice explanation about what to watch for - sensitivity to heat, long lasting pain - and the why of it all. And this is where it got interesting! This is why someone might actually want to be a dentist someday. I can't explain it to you verbatim - my non-scientific, non-dental mind got the gist of what he was saying though. There is pulp in our teeth (really) and when it gets infected it swells and pinches the nerves, which somehow makes it die. Or something like that. It was quite interesting to learn. And maybe some of you already knew this. But I learned something today.
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