"Natural" Dentistry

Whenever somebody broaches the "natural childbirth" topic with me, I interject quickly with my practiced, pat response: "I don't go to the dentist to have my teeth drilled without anesthetic in order to have a 'natural' experience. So I certainly don't plan on delivering a baby without an epidural. God invented anesthesia for a reason!" I find it's pretty hard for people to come up with a good argument for that.

Well, ladies and gentleman, I have to find a new quip, because yesterday I TOTALLY went to the dentist and had my teeth drilled without anesthetic! Before visions of Steve Martin in Little Shop of Horrors begin to dance in your head, I need to clarify. I was having minimal dental work done. While insinuating that I was having a root canal would make me seem tougher, the reality is that I had a very tiny cavity on the outside surface of one of my lower molars. Still, I thought Dr. Vernon was insane when he suggested I attempt the drilling without anesthetic. But he pointed out that I would be sparing myself the painful shot (and hi, that needle that I HATE. Hello, I'm trying to keep my fainting record in tact!). Additionally, I could spend the evening doing something besides drooling out the numb side of my mouth and accidentally chewing up my numb cheek. He was very nice and said that if it started to hurt, he could always stop and numb me up. I decided to be brave and go for it. Again, I could pretend that the drilling lasted an eternity and that I was in agony to make the story cooler. But the drilling lasted four minutes. Well, when you account for the thoughtful dentist stopping every 20 seconds to make sure I was okay, it probably only lasted two. It did hurt a little, but I think he was right. The shot would have been worse. Crazy, but the "natural" dental work was probably one of the most pleasant experiences I've ever had at the dentist!

So yeah, I'm going to need a new defense for my love of epidurals during childbirth. Other than the obvious which is: It feels really good.

Then again, I finally have a response when some lady starts bragging about laboring for 46 hours without an epidural. I'm totally going to tell about the time I had dental work done without the benefit of novacaine. Of course, in the version I tell her, it will be a root canal.