ANDRE BEGIN

Even though I’m certainly no stranger to brushing, flossing and rinsing, you’d think that I was, given the amount of work that I put in at the eleventh hour when preparing for a visit with the hygienist, the dentist or both.

To me, presenting my dental professionals with a clean mouth to work from is no different than preparing dinner from a clean kitchen where everything is neat, tidy and organized. On the flipside, I could understand how someone might think my effort is more like cleaning up before the cleaning lady arrives.

Back in my days as an office worker, before leaving for my appointment, I would make sure to brush, floss, and rinse, even though that meant having to bring to the office my electric toothbrush, my toothpaste, my floss, my bottle of rinse and a little hand towel. It was a bit of a production, but to me it just showed responsibility as a mouth owner and courtesy as a patient.

But when I think back to my much younger years (also known as my cavity-prone years) and my years seeing an orthodontist every few weeks, I struggle to recall if my pre-visit preparations were as extensive. Sure, I brushed twice daily and flossed whenever I remembered. But I do not recall my book bag holding the contents of a mobile dental clinic as it did more recently. I can only assume that the professionals may have had to sift through the remnants of my most recent meal to conduct a proper examination.

Mind you, at that age, I can’t say I ate anything terribly exotic or aromatic to leave lingering halitosis, except maybe for certain dairy products. Just the same, I am mortified to think of the conditions they were subjected to and the morsels they had to sift through to find signs of trouble or decay. Thankfully, most dental check-ups were preceded by a thorough cleaning performed by the coolest hygienist in the world, with whom I had a great rapport.

I can’t imagine I was the only youngster who didn’t go the extra mile to prepare, but either way, my dental professional team always seemed happy to see me. I don’t recall walking in the door and any of them hiding behind furniture, stalling before my appointments, or overhearing anyone saying, “You take him!”, “No, YOU take him!” “I took him last time.” Just the same, I am most fortunate that I had the same dentist, orthodontist and hygienist for many years.

I am grateful that they accepted me as a patient and stuck with me through the years, keeping my dental hygiene in top form and helping me keep my teeth for a lifetime.

I hope that the extensive preparations I go through before visits today to present a clean mouth to work from, balances out any lingering karma that may exist for the less-than-ideal working conditions I may have presented to my dental professionals when I was younger and less self-aware.

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Sincere thanks for reading!
Have a great day,
André