Not as bad as I thought it'd be
I survived the dentist's. The only reason I chose this particular dentist, apart from the fact that I had to go to a dentist anyway, was because my housemate Sharon had recently gone to him and reported that he had been very gentle. As I am the stereotypical person who is terrified of dentists, "gentle" can only be good.
I made sure to tell him I was there because I had been informed that he was gentle. He assured me that he would take good care of me.
And it was painless. I was very impressed at the computer monitor positioned across from my seat -- the dentist took a picture of my tooth and flashed it across the screen, and my, that cavity was HUGE. So canggih! So technologically advanced! So... so expensive!
Well, I haven't been to a dentist in three years. When I got out of the dental surgery, I texted my former housemate, Dion, who used to be a dentist-in-training and now is a dentist-for-real. "I did it! I went to see a dentist after three years!"
Dion replied, "THREE YEARS?! I feel like I've failed you as a dentist, since I was staying with you for those three years!"
Yeah, but we never talked about teeth. I just didn't wanna spoil the friendship, ya know? Besides, I admit it! She was a student! I am already phobic enough without having to add extra elements of fear into the picture!
I think a great deal of fear is induced by the equipment dentists use. I mean, the sounds those things make are pretty unnerving. Even if you're so well-anaesthetised that you wouldn't feel it if a truck were to run over your jaw, the minute you hear those thingys start to buzz and grind and drill and whatever, it spurs you to imagine you're in pain whether or not you really are. How could such scary-sounding things NOT inflict pain?!
So I'm now holding my breath in the hope that the filling will be good enough and I won't end up having to go for a -- *gasp* -- root canal treatment, which apart from being quite a horrendous nightmare, will also cost a bomb. Aieeeeeee!