“This won’t hurt a bit” …
… is NOT what the dentist performing a delicate procedure on my choppers said this morning. Instead, he told me to alert him if I needed more local anesthetic during the extraction of an upper front tooth and insertion of a temporary one. I didn’t.
My “before” dental X-ray and possible Halloween mask. Too scary?
Thanks to silent meditation and a high pain tolerance on my part, and skilled dentistry on his, I got through it all just fine.
It helped that my husband had arranged to work from home today and came with me to the appointment. He spoke with the dentist beforehand, getting answers to questions that I hadn’t been able to on my own. And when the dentist kept referring to my husband as “doctor,” well, we just let that slide. (Ted’s in communications, but he’s so knowledgeable about brain injury that he’s often mistaken for an MD.)
While I was in the chair, I put all my meditation techniques to use. I did relaxation breathing, focusing my exhales on the area of discomfort to make it recede, and even–WEIRD ALERT–silently doing chants that correspond with the cakras (pronounced CHA-kras), or energy centers of the body.
That’s why I didn’t need more anesthetic. There was pain, but I made it go away.
That’s the blog inspiration I got while sitting in the dentist’s chair. You see, I’d started my morning, as always, with cereal, coffee, news … and angst. This is a painful period in our country’s history, but I believe we can overcome the pain.
I’ll see you at the voting booth.
“Now spit, and go to the front desk for your follow-up appointment.”
That’s Brain Injury For Ya 