Getting acquainted with the dentist!

So after destroying my mouth that wonderful summer day we had to find a dentist that would enjoy collecting our money and doing dental work. (Which is never hard to do) We ended up going to a place that was only a few blocks from where we lived in Bothell. I know listening to stories about the dentist that it was never a fun place to go. Typically, you were stuck in a dental chair with nothing but the sounds of grinding and drilling. Who knows but I have grown up to enjoying the dental office more than dread it. Don't get me wrong I hated the experience of grinding, drilling, spitting, and hanging your mouth open for hours, but I at least had a fun place to do it in. I just know that the place I went to was a unique place as they were starting to make your dental experience more relaxing and enjoyable for the hours you were sitting in the chair.


What I remember from the dental office I grew up in was the fact that they had this huge coy pond right down the center of the different dental areas. I loved getting to go and stick my finger in the pond cause the fish would suck your fingers. Don't know why, but for a 7 year old boy it was the coolest thing ever. The one thing about the dental office, that I loved, was the fact that typically you weren't stuck sitting there for hours like a doctor's office. You came in and were put into dental chair a few minutes later. They would call your name and get you into your dental area. I remember how weird it was to walk by the different areas and seeing different people in the dental office with their mouths stuck wide open. Most probably hating their experience. For me it was awesome as I got to sit down in the chair and the first thing they did was put the headphones on and drop a remote in my lap. Full cable TV baby! I wasn't so much addicted to ESPN as I am now, but I loved the fact that I got every channel in the area at my finger tips. What could have been better? Not to much in my book that was for sure. It always made my days at the dentist go faster. I always found myself turn the volume up to loud to hear the dentist as they worked on me. It was never a bad thing because most of the time when the dentist is talking to you it is either two things 1. Is everything ok or 2. Telling you that this might hurt or be noisy. All I know is that I just had to shake my head yes every so often and we were good to go.

What I learned from the experience is that the dentist was an ok place to hang out. There was cool fish that sucked your fingers, they had t.v. ready for you when you came in, you always got flavored fluoride (options were like 4 or 5 different fruits and root beer) , and afterwards you always took home a parting gift (that's right toothbrush, toothpaste, floss (that piled up in the bathroom drawer) and sometimes new little things to try out. It was hardly ever was a bad experience. All I know is that with all the damage I did to my mouth I probably have spent more time in a dental chair than about 8-10 people combined. At least, I always had cable!