Thursday, December 11, 2008

I formally accept...

I'm was actually thinking ahead as to what my post would be about today and I came up blank. Oh I have ideas, but I just want to use them at another time. Trust me. I have a plan.

Anyway, while begging for help on Twitter and reading through other blogs I found my inspiration or should I say assignment?

Mama Kat wants to know about my worst dentist experience. She must be one of those weird people that like to hear about other's pain, but I won't give her that kind of satisfaction.

In fact during the worst experience I ever had at a dentist's office I never even got to see the dentist. This office was new to my family and I had only gone once before because you see I'm quite picky about my dentist. I've had a few that should have held the title "Torturer" not DDS so I try to be selective and ask for referrals.

Even with a referral I knew after the first visit that the office was different from any other, and not in a good way. The area where he worked was open. Meaning I could see 3-4 chairs from my chair and we were only blocked by cabinet walls. Each section had it's own equipment but I'd never been to a dentist's office where I could eavesdrop on the other patients.

Other unhappy patients. Ugh.

Sometimes you have no one to blame but yourself. I knew I should not have even booked an appointment but he said I had a cavity so I scheduled a follow up visit. A morning appointment. Have I shared that I'm not a morning person?

So on that morning I show up, check in and sit down to await my torture filling. I notice there is a different receptionist this time. And she's interesting. She's on the phone, assuming with clients and speaking very, uh...how do you say? Ghetto. Yes, she was very ghetto - using slang and an accent that was obviously not her own.

I'm sitting there and listening to her take calls. Waiting. And waiting. And waiting. After about 45 minutes I ask her if the dentist is going to see me today. She just gives me a basic "he'll be with you" and sends me back to wait. And wait. And wait.

With each waiting minute I'm getting more and more pissed off. But before I could go back to the desk she abruptly gets up, puts on her coat and leaves with one of the nurses. I'm thinking maybe she's taking a break.

Nope. They get in the car together and leave. LEAVE. Do you understand what I'm saying? While I'm waiting for almost an hour for some freakin' doctor to put a needle in my gums and drill the crap out of my tooth, the reception, who is my only link to the evil dentist, leaves! I was in shock. S-H-O-C-K.

A minute later another nurse makes her way through the hallway so I grab her and ask about the dentist. "He'll be with you shortly." So I tell her that I've already been waiting and I've been told that by the receptionist that has now left the building.

"Oh she had to go pick up her car. It was being repaired and it's ready."

That was it. The last straw. I said well I've waited way too long as it is and now I'm leaving. She asks if I want another appointment. I looked at her like she had an arrow in her head. Not hardly.

Another dentist bites the dust.

If anyone has any insight on why the dentist asks you random questions while his hands are elbow deep in your mouth I'd love to know. Personally I think they like to hear us sound like idiots when we answer them.

17 comments:

Jennifer said...

LOL!!

you have my cracking up!! :)

this is near and dear to my heart b/c i was a dental assistant before being a SAHM and I LOVED my job... and that is what I plan to go back to when my girls start pre-school next fall.

Anyway... that sucks. that was a bad/weird experience. but i know some of the dentists I have worked for just keep patients waiting b/c they are jerks. sorry about that. I only temped for one like that and didn't go back to temp any more for him... b/c of that and other issues.

i know we used to talk to each other... me and the dentist and the other assistant... but we would also make comments and such to the patient so they are at ease and don't feel strange b/c we are having a full conversation while they are right there and not including them.

plus it is really strange, but we can understand you while you have a mouth full of suction, drill, water, filling material, and hands. lol it is our special trait we learn. :P

i know a GREAT AWESOME AMAZING wonderful caring loving really really REALLY good dentist up on all the newest technology and all that... DENTIST if you need one... but he is in NY. :)

i'm just sayin' if you were really looking. :)

xoxox

~Trish~ said...

ONLY if you have time...I have something for you on my blog :)

Anonymous said...

Well, I'm just glad that you didn't stick around for your appointment. Who knows what would have happened?

Summer said...

Oh no! You stayed way longer than I would have!!!

Lula! said...

I was waiting for the part where the ghetto-wannabe receptionist comes back and you bitch-slap the mess out of her. 'Cause in my head, that's how it went down. Did it go down in your head that way, too?

This rain is KILLING me, Brandy. Two straight days, non-stop. Are y'all getting it too? Didn't mean to go off on a rabbit trail there, but I'm thinking the weather has a lot to do with my, "I'm eating cereal for supper" attitude. Sigh...

Carrie said...

Yeah, I would have left too. Weird...

April said...

That sucks. But I always sit around and listen to people in waiting rooms too. It's usually pretty funny.

Aleta said...

I would have left too!! Ugh, I can't stand the dentist. I'm amongst the many who could share nightmares of childhood experiences. I wouldn't have gone to another dentist for the rest of my life, except that my brother recommended one. And my brother never recommends anyone and ... he HATES dentists as much as I do, so I had to go to this one. FINALLY found a good one. Keep looking - it's a needle in a haystack, but good dentist do exist! I swear, it's not a myth.

Elizabeth Byler Younts said...

Wow...that's terrible. i think i would've been annoyed also...way too long to wait!

Maki said...

Wow, you're sooo patient!!! I would probably wait, too, but really, soome doctor offices are horrible.

I did enjoy reading your worst dentist experience - it really made me laugh:)

Mommynightowl said...

wow, what a horrible office, I would have left too. With an assistant and receptioninst like those I don't think the dentist would have been very good.

LOL, I always wonder why dentists ask you question while they are in your mouth, when you obviosly can't answer them. I know they shake your face when they give you anesthsia so you think about that instead of the shot.

deb@virginia blue said...

you're a good woman to have stayed and waited as long as you did!...and even better for ditching the dentist =)

stopping by via SITS...i noticed you're in VA, which is where i'm from...i MISS VA at this time of year!

Shannon said...

Just about every visit to the dentist is the worst for me... UGH. I H-A-T-E going to the dentist. A few years ago, I finally found one that I like. His office does "sedation" dentistry... best thing ever. I had to have a root canal... I got a pill to make me drowsy, a warm blanket to use while I was in the chair... it was actually a good visit!

Now the dentist is out-of-network with my dental insurance. So my husband wants me to find one that is in-net.

Jo-Jo said...

Why do they do that? I have always wondered that myself! Thanks for stopping by my blog! I do hope you come back!

*~Annette~* said...

I've always had great experiences with the dentist... but to have them LEAVE?@?@???? Geesh. Call a friend!

KatBouska said...

Lula's comment is cracking me up. :) And FYI I've been second guessing my choice to use this writing prompt as all of the stories have been completely grossing me out.

Thanks for not grossing me out.

Sarah Halter said...

I went to an open dentist's office like that a couple times too. I went back to have a wisdom tooth pulled only to find out that my appointment had been canceled but nobody bothered to call me. When I did go back and have it done, the lady in the next chair was really anxious about having the root canal done, but instead of talking through what she was concerned about, they were like, "Are you gonna do it or not? You're wasting our freaking time." They were so rude and insensitive and it was like they were working you through an assembly line. I never went back and I actually haven't been to the dentist in a few years. I grew up with a great dentist. I just need to find one where I live now.