DEAR Jasminda,

WHY does my dentist talk to me when my mouth is full of his fingers and equipment?

Sarah B.

Dear Sarah,

I UNDERSTAND that this may be frustrating, and it is extremely hard to communicate when your mouth is clamped open and full of tweezers, pliers and probes, but your dentist chats to put you at ease by explaining what he is doing every step of the way.

This is a great theory, but didn’t work so well when I had a wisdom tooth out in the chair.

As I frantically waved my hands and moved my eyes to let him know the local anaesthetic wasn’t working, he replied that it should be.

When I tried to communicate that I was so stressed I felt like I was about to have a heart attack, it came out as ‘Giskrkrsl sktjeoshhh beisdldlfmsmd’ and he kept going.

Finally, when he said he was going to have to cut into the bone, I yelled ‘get me my lawyer and a priest’.

The fact I don’t have a lawyer or go to church seemed inconsequential at the time.

What I have learned, from this experience, is to carefully research your dental options, always choose to be knocked out for dental procedures, and the very helpful thumbs down and stop hand signals.

Don’t worry too much if your dentist is making idle chit chat; that’s the least of your concerns.

Carpe diem,
Jasminda.