And now the rest: I saw a dentist for the first time in over a year. It didn't go well.
I'll back up and let you know that I take meticulous care of my teeth. I've always been up on my dentist appointments, generally going every six months. I only let it go this long because my husband changed jobs last year, and I could no longer be on his insurance plan. So I enrolled in my own employer's dental plan, only to learn that the plan didn't cover the dentist I had been seeing.
So I figured since I was moving anyway, I'd just wait to find a new dentist here in Florida. But it kept getting pushed to the bottom of the priority pile. By the time I was able to find a new dentist nearby, get them listed as my primary care dentist, and get an appointment during a time that was mutually convenient for both of us, it was... well, today.
The thing is... I do have some problems. In my mid-twenties, my dentist at the time clued me in that I was headed for some serious trouble. It didn't make much sense for someone who brushes twice a day and flosses before bedtime, so my dentist just didn't believe me and didn't give me any other advice about my teeth.
Maybe had he known about my eating disorder - and all the accompanying nutritional deficiencies - I'd have something more to go on. But, as I've mentioned before, I was just not ready to talk to anybody about it back then, not even a licensed health care professional.
I continued to do what I could to practice good oral hygiene. With every move I've made - California to Connecticut to New Jersey and now to Florida - I'd have to see a new dentist. And each time, they'd look at me with concern and suggest my condition was something to be monitored.
Well, except for today's dentist. She kind of looked at me like I had teeth like this:
The first thing she asked me is if I had a mouth piercing (assuming she meant like a labret piercing) at some point in my history. Hah! Me? Hell no. I fainted when I got my ears pierced at 8 years old - a traumatic story (for another day) that has left me with a major fear of needles and a guarantee that I'd never get anything else pierced again.
Anyway, I guess the issues with my gums were similar to what someone would experience with that type of piercing. When I told her no, I never had a piercing, but was aware of my issues, she jumped ALL OVER ME.
Now, hang on - my prior dentists' all had concerns, it's true, but with each subsequent appointment, I'd usually be informed that my condition had remained stable. I tried to explain this to my dentist today, but she just said that all of my other dentists should be stripped of their licenses and that I was to blame for not seeing a periodontist AGES ago.
For real?
Well... my fault... my dentist's fault... it doesn't matter.
Being told you are going to lose all of your front teeth at 35 years old is pretty scary.
Just saying.
Eating disorders suck.
Today's Exercise: Rest.
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