SURPRISE SURPRISE

I had a double-whammy surprise in the past twenty-four hours. HAPPY TUESDAY! Sort of.

I had my day planned and scheduled. So much for great planning. Yesterday, my phone rang with a reminder call that I had a dental cleaning scheduled for today at 1:00 pm. I had forgotten (after six months) and don't know where my reminder card with the little tooth sticker disappeared to for my calendar. I was verbally surprised, but said I would rearrange my schedule and be there.

When I got there about eight minutes early, I sat to wait until the office lunch hour was over. It was Dr. Greg's birthday and they had a cake to celebrate the occasion. Of course, I kidded him about being one day older than I am...calendar-wise but not year-wise.

I expected the dental technician to come to the door, but was greeted with the best surprise EVER, under the circumstances of going to the dentist! SHE'S BACK my mind screamed and when I stepped into the exam room I gave her a big hug. Dr. Greg's wife Christie is also a dentist and used to do my cleanings, but took the last six years off from work to have a baby and stay home with her three children for a while. Now that the youngest is six years old, she is back to work full time. YEA! I was SO happy to see her and know that I would get a professional cleaning and safe treatment. She is so good at her job!

She spoiled me ten years ago when I first started going to that dental office, because she is so careful and never hurts my mouth (like some past hygienists used to). The office had a very good hygienist for several years after Christie got pregnant the last time, but she moved on to another job in the big city. I remember one of her many replacements who could not seem to get the technique of using the suction at the same time as the water cleaner. I had to remind her a couple times. The next replacement was too rough for me, even when asked to take it easy. She attacked my mouth with a vengeance and I had to complain to Dr. Greg when he noticed the tears on my face when he came in to check on me.

Today's cleaning was painless, swift, and we were able to talk a little during my visit. I sure missed her! Going to the dentist is not always a pleasant duty, but she makes it great. Since she herself is a licensed dentist, Dr. Greg doesn't have to come in to check on any hygienist and can have another patient at the same time. Better for both of them.

When I made my appointment for six months down the road, I made sure she would be there on my scheduled day. I'm spoiled to the best and now don't want anyone else but Dr. Christie to touch my teeth. They are in great shape and I want to keep them that way.