Here Be Dentists

Off to the dentist this morning. This is, without doubt, my least favourite occupation since I was drilled sans anaesthetic by an Oxford dentist named, I kid you not, Savage. This, as you can no doubt imagine was an unforgettable experience and has left ruts in my psyche deeper than those on the most used bits of the Ridgeway. Thanks largely to the Gestapo-like tactics of my batty old ma I have led a life of low-ish sugar intake so my gob is not the bacterial war zone it could have been without her Nature Cure philosophy. This is a mixed blessing. On the one hand I have needed little dental work, on the other I have had minimum desensetising contact with dental personnel. The one and only extraction I've had was done under general anaesthetic and turned my previously pain free mouth into a raging week-long toothache in the extracted tooth. So my historical dental experience is not good to begin with. Add to this negatively balanced equation the fact that one can no longer have extractions done under GA, that I know I need two wisdom teeth pulled out and that my current dentist gleefully related a tale of doing and extraction on a Red Sea dive boat crew member with no anaesthetic and a sterilised screwdriver and it becomes apparent why I'm viewing this mornings appointment with some trepidation. Wish me luck