Let’s Brace Ourselves for the New (Old) Normal
Confession: It’s been over a year since I’ve had my teeth cleaned. Let’s blame it on COVID and not the fact that I hate going to the dentist. Or at least, I thought I hated it.
During my first routine check-up in over a year, I plopped myself down in the dental chair. The dental assistant prepared my x-ray, and the sun shined through the leaves outside. It was nice to see a different view from the one at my kitchen table, where I work all day. I inhaled the plastic smell of fluoride and dental equipment and exhaled my anxious thoughts: the bill sitting at my desk. The cat food I needed to order. The text message I forgot to reply to five days ago. The dental assistant asked me to bite down on the little piece of x-ray film, and I was soothed. Yes, it hurt when the film dug into my lower jaw, but it hurt so good. The light beeps of the x-ray machine almost lulled me into a nap.
When my dentist arrived, I asked her a million questions. Does she like the new office? Has she been busy? Does she live close by? Before I can ask for her Social Security number, she tells me to open my mouth and lie back. I close my eyes like it’s a massage. This is what a year of quarantine does to a person: It makes a dentist appointment feel like the spa.
It’s not just the human contact and gentle touch of the latex gloves against my…
