Since my sister just had her cute baby Tessa, my mother is town visiting and should be here for next ten weeks or so. She’s also here because she needs to go to a real dentist. It’s not just me; my entire family is also afraid to go to real dentist fearing that the dentist might feel inclined to actually do real dental work.

With two abscessed teeth, I understand my mother’s fear. I’m not a dentist, or anything, but I’m pretty sure her abscessed teeth will need to be extracted which would probably result in a lot of expense and discomfort. If you had been going to the dentist every six months, you’d expect a dentist to notice a cavity the size of a peanut.

Growing up, I’d gather around with all of the other little people after someone came back from the dentist. Someone would have a lollypop and would show off their cavity free teeth by opening-wide and pointing at every tooth. I remembered thinking, “I wonder if I have any cavities?” and decided to ask at my next six-month checkup. I wanted to be super cool and say, “ZERO cavities!” and smile like an important person.

At the next visit, I kept my promise to myself and asked, “Did I have any cavities?”

After an awkward silence and no answer, I decided that I was in fact cavity-free. But now I know; the dentist just didn’t know. And I probably had cavities.

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