Friday 11 April 2008

At the dentist's

I wonder if there is a word for fear of the dentist? For I certainly have it. It doesn't help that I don't like my dentist, I joined the practise 30 years ago when I lived in the area. Since then, I have moved many times within the London area and that surgery has been the one fixed point in all my wanderings.
For 20 years I had a wonderful Polish dentist. He retired and I was taken on by the head of the practice, an irascible Dr House type of man who turned out to be brilliant and have a heart of gold to match his fillings. It was a terrible shock to everybody when he died suddenly, only in his fifties. The next senior dentist took over. He is Greek and spends most of his time telling me off for grinding my teeth. I don't. Previous dentists ground them down for me, trying to fix rough fillings. He tells me I'm not cleaning my teeth properly when I use an electric toothbrush, floss and dental brushes. What more can a person do? I am thinking about changing dentists, but that is easier said than done. Should I stick to the cantankerous tooth merchant I know? I have to go back for a huge filling on the 28th. A 45 minute appointment. What IS that word for fear of the dentist?

LATEST BOOK WORD COUNT: 64,967 after a two-day absence for work and dentistry. I'm now worried I shan't fit in all the plot before I bump up against the 90,000 words which my agent decrees is the maximum length. How does he know? What about those big, thick sagas that I love to take on holiday in the hope that they'll last a fortnight? (They never do, especially if it rains.)

2 comments:

Jackie Sayle said...

Dentophobia = fear of dentists.

hydra said...

Oh! Brilliant. Makes sense, doesn't it?