No Shoes Dental Surgery
I’m having dental problems again. In September of last year, I had two cavities filled. Immediately afterwards, one of my 3 wisdom teeth started to come in. It was causing me a great deal of pain as it was pushing on a top back molar. It sent a thick pain from the top of my skull down to my neck and over to my nasal cavity.
So back to the dentist I went. I specifically asked why a wisdom tooth that lay dormant for 50 years suddenly started to move. “Coincidence,” the dentist said and then referred me to a dental surgeon in Waco. I know a dental surgeon who is about 10-15 years younger than me, and he told me to go to a different guy. “This guy is great!” he said.
I went to the dental surgeon, and this is what happened:
“So, you know Matt S——?” he asked. The young and energetic surgeon sat down in the chair next to where I was laying. He had on navy blue scrubs. His short hair was spiked up with gel and he had a well-trimmed and purposefully stubbled face. He looked like he worked out in a home gym. He had a cute blond dental assistant with him.
“I do. Our daughters are close friends, go to the same school. We’ve hung out a few times.” I replied.
“Gotcha. Matt and I have known one another for years. Went to dental school together. He actually introduced me to my wife at a Kenney Chesney concert. Ha!”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” I said. “I mean not about him introducing you to your wife, but that you had to go to a Kenney Chesney concert.”
“Really? I love Kenney Chesney!” he turned and started looking at the x-rays of my teeth on a screen. He kept going, “C’mon, he’s taken the torch from Jimmy Buffet and is continuing that pirate lifestyle song thing.”
“Oh yeah, Parrot heads. Well, Jimmy Buffet isn’t good either. He had one good song in the 70’s and somehow built an entire empire from it. I guess that’s something.” I said.
He turned and looked at me with a surprised look on his face. “You don’t like Jimmy Buffet? I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who didn’t like Jimmy Buffet.”
“I mean Margaritaville is a hell of a song. Come Monday is a good song, but after that there’s just nothing. It’s 50 years of him shuffling around in his Hush Puppies looking for a saltshaker.” After I said this, I could tell I was being a very negative person.
“Well, I’m glad we didn’t turn on Kenney Chesney’s Sirius Station today! We usually have it playing.” His assistant put a paper bib on my chest and handed me some dark glasses.
“Oh yeah, No Shoes Radio.” I said.
“You know it?” he asked.
“Yeah, I have Sirius Radio.” I said.
Do you listen to his station?” he asked.
“I don’t, but I have before. There’s too much Kenney Chesney music on that station.” I said.
“Right. You don’t like Kenney Chesney.”
“No, and I think it would be weird if I came to get dental surgery and No Shoes Radio was playing.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, you want me to come in here and just kick off my shoes with a margarita in my hand? No shoes, no shirt, no problem, right?”
He laughed a fake laugh. “No, but it may help you relax or take your mind off why you are here.”
“You should just play death metal music then.”
“I don’t think many people like death metal.”
“I don’t think many people like dental surgery.”
I could tell he and I weren’t getting along very well. We didn’t talk much after that. I knew I should have never said anything about Kenney Chesney. He poked around said yes, a wisdom tooth was coming in and that it needed to be removed. He also said we should remove the other two while I was under. He also said I would not be able to work or do a great deal for a week or two. Especially at my age.
I knew I would have to time this out. Being out of commission for even 3 or 4 days would be a lot. It was late September and he said he could pull my teeth in a few weeks. That would put me out around my son’s birthday and Halloween. After that we had Thanksgiving and then Christmas. We were not only hosting both of those holidays in multiples, but we had something going on that required my full attention every single week already on the calendar.
Then the pain went away. Once my wisdom tooth stopped hurting, I just forgot about the whole thing.
In the spring of this year, I got a call from the dental surgeon. It popped up on my phone as No Shoes Dental Surgery because that’s how I saved it. I ignored the call, but they left a voicemail asking me about the dental surgery.
Last week the wisdom tooth started moving again and the pain has returned. The pain went away for almost an entire year and then resurfaced. The pain is just bad as it was last time. I knew it would probably do this, but I hoped it wouldn’t.
I don’t want to, but I know I’m going to have to go back to No Shoes Dental Surgery and well… face the music.