Swords were crossed.. the first battle is over

I just reached home from the dentist. It went better than I thought it would be. I actually feel a little in shock and shaky now. So what basically happened was that he explained everything he is going to do very very carefully like I'm a child and he gave me a mirror to hold so I can see what he was doing. And although I felt a little patronized, I am also extremely grateful that he was so kind. It also turned out that I do not have a cavity. According to him, it's actually gum disease and that black spot I saw was an old filling which I had forgotten about. He said that I need to come back for a scaling and polishing. Anyone knows how that feels like? Will it hurt? I'm gonna sleep on what happened today and relax a bit first then pick up the courage to book the next appointment for the procedure. 

But anyways, here's a blow by blow account if you wanna read it:
I walked into the place clutching my friend's arm and barely remembering to breathe. The receptionist got me a form to fill up and I sat on a couch with my 2 best friends to wait. There were quite a lot of flowers in the place and the place did not smell of that disgusting antiseptic that many dental clinics use. Halfway while waiting, some sounds came from inside the room and I got attacked by a memory and I started crying a bit. The receptionist offered me water and everything and was nice.

Then I went in, completely clinging onto my friend's arm and freaking out. He managed, after a few seconds, to persuade me to sit on the chair, just to talk. The chair was purple so it looked kind of cute. He asked what was wrong and eventually persuaded me to let him put the chair down so he can take a look. I was looking in the mirror all the while to see what he was doing. He showed me how easily my gums bled and gave me a pamphlet to read about gum disease. Then we spoke a bit about what happened when I was a child and he reassured me that he's not going to do anything I don't agree to. He then said that in a few years, I might have problems with my wisdom tooth and when I said I did research on that and I know what is going on, he sort of didn't believe me and quizzed me. Haha! He was a little shocked I think, when I gave all correct points 

He also told me exactly what would happen if I were to come in next time for a scaling and polishing. He showed me how each of the tools worked and even used my nail as a demonstration of how that weird polishing thingy works. He told me that there would be absolutely no surprises for the next time I come in. He also took photos of my teeth to show me what was going on. 

At the end of it, he told me to walk out myself, without clinging to my friends and said that next time I come in, I don't come in as scared. 

End of the long account.

Anyways, the only thing that concerns me a bit is that he seems to want to make money off me but I guess that is to be expected. He kept recommending me to buy toothbrushes and stuff at the end and he also talked about having me as his regular. He has quite an authoritative manner which sometimes feels reassuring and sometimes a little intimidating. But overall, this is a far cry from the childhood experiences of my past. I have taken a step to overcoming my phobia. While it will not be easy to pick up the phone to book the next appointment, I am reasonably sure I can do it! 

Anyways, to conclude this long post, I think that finding the right dentist is very important. I am taking baby steps to overcoming my phobia and I feel quite good about it 

This is the place I went to

Me and my friends