How times have changed...

My recollection of dentists in Sutton in Ashfield between the mid '70s and mid '80s were two middle aged blokes with huge fingers and an aloof attitude. Dr Hunter-Spokes (the bloke who used to extract my poor teeth) had a picture of Raquel Welsh in a bikini on the ceiling above the chair and Dr Richardson (the bloke who identified which teeth needed extracting) drove a big green Jaguar and lived in what I presumed was the most expensive house in town. The receptionists were old biddies who slid open a window to check your name, sent you through to the waiting room and slid the window back again - no doubt to stick pins in little boy and girl voodoo dolls. A voice came over the tannoy to announce the next victim. Always too much time to wait and think about how many teeth were to be removed.

Cut to Sydney, 2005. I walk in and am greeted by a couple of Aussie chicks - big boobs, long legs. A good start. I fill out a form and take the opportunity to identify that I haven't had my teeth looked at for 20-odd years and that I suffer from 'Dental Anxiety'. Almost straight away, I'm introduced to 'Zarni', a late twenties Asian babe (Indonesian-Chinese), with a beautiful smile (obviously) and a flirty way of joking about what a challenge I was to present. How do you spell, 'grrrrrrr'?

So after an x-ray, a few tut-tuts, a good clean, a good flossing and a thorough examination - she concluded that; I need another big x-ray to look at my wisdom teeth (which may have to come out - aaaaarrrrggggghhhhh) and another visit in a couple of weeks to have two big fillings (redone) and two small fillings. But basically, considering the lack of professional attention, and apart from lots of old fillings which need to be monitored & possibly renewed when appropriate, my teeth are OK. A bit uneven and definitely a good method of forensic identification!

I'm now considering making up for the 40-odd visits I've missed and going once a week for a clean and floss! Shirley met me after the consultation and eyeballed my dentist. As we walked out, she said that she thought I should change and go to the dentist she visits, using some excuse that I could claim more on medical insurance from him. I later realised that Shirley is not happy for me to spend any more time in the company of Zarni. Ha!

So that's over with. All my anxieties have gone and logic has returned to rule my life.

No run this morning. Squash tonight. Must give Simon a call.

Until tomorrow...