I'm afraid of the dentist

 For quite literally as long as I can remember, I've been petrified of the dentist. One of my earliest memories is being in hospital and getting an anaesthetic injection for when I got some crowns put on my back teeth to protect them (or something like that?). I also found out recently that apparently when I came to after the procedure, the first thing I did was punch my mam! How funny.

My next earliest memory of the dentists is getting my fillings done, and every single part of it hurt. For years afterwards, the sound of high-pitched noises would set me off and make my teeth ache as it reminded me of the drills. After I got more fillings done two years ago, I decided to take my oral health more seriously.

It's not as if I was neglecting my teeth before; I think, if I'm remembering rightly, my teeth are underdeveloped. I was told this a while ago, so what I say could be a load of rubbish, but I'm pretty sure my teeth are weaker than they should be, as the enamel never grew on them. It probably didn't help that the only thing I would drink was pop (quite literally, I would never have a sip of water), and my diet consisted mainly of chocolate. Since my last appointment, I've made an effort to floss every single day, reduce the amount of pop I drink, increase the amount of water I'm drinking, and reduce the amount of sweets I have.

I was worried that my efforts were in vain when I had my appointment booked for this Friday - I've always been anxious going to the dentist; I hate the feeling and sound of them prodding my teeth with their tools. But, thankfully, my teeth had improved massively! Only one section of my gums bled slightly, and he said my teeth were in much better condition than they had been before, thanks to all of my flossing! I was so pleased; he said the gums in the back of my mouth were slightly inflamed, but he said it made sense when I explained to him I've been struggling to brush the back of my teeth since it makes me gag. I was so happy when he made some recommendations to make sure I brush efficiently without triggering my gag reflex.

I think that the work I've done between now and my last appointment in preparing for pharmacy applications, and now my degree, has helped me understand that what he was saying before about my poor teeth wasn't an insult; he was trying to help. Up until very recently, I used to take any sort of criticism very personally, until I realised that the people I was receiving criticism from were trying to help me, and it wasn't any sort of personal attack; it was just that I was still learning, and they were helping to guide me in the right direction. I feel as though this mindset really benefitted me during my time at sixth form, as I went from being shy about speaking to the teachers to feeling confident about asking them questions, no matter how stupid I thought they were. As a wise man once said: the only stupid questions are the ones that don't get asked.