Things I do NOT expect are as follows:
*The Dental Hygienist (DH) starting my gums and then walking into the hall and shouting to another nurse "I have a bleeder, ugh!"
*Said DH commenting through entire cleaning that she can't believe she has to stay late when everyone is leaving and that my (bad) tartar is going to take forever
*DH also RUNNING to get my (first, and then second because she took the first with all of the tartar) XRays because she is in such a rush. Take a moment and imagine the treatment my gums got because of this amount of haste.
*The guilt trip I got because it had been a long time. I STARTED OFF the appointment commenting on how bad I knew it was going to be and even apologizing (because I'm nice/full of guilt), but explaining the lapse in my insurance and not being able to afford it. The response: "You should have asked your mom and dad to pay for it." Lady, I'm 25, and have been pretty much financially independent of my parents since I was 18. Seriously. I should have come up with the money, but that is neither here nor there. Pleaz to not be making personal judgments, thanx.
*DH suggesting I come back for a "secondary" cleaning because she doesn't want to spend all night trying to see around my bleeding gums, and because I was making her "feel guilty" with my flinching. Now... When getting your first cleaning in 4.5 years, and obviously having sensitive gums, it's going to hurt. When pain happens, you flinch. I did deep breathing through the whole thing, and only said "ow" ONCE when it felt like she was digging out one of my molars. But I can't stop involuntary action, and my insurance doesn't cover somebody else also digging at my mouth because you don't want to stay late.
*When I ask "what flavor?" before she starts the cleaning portion, I'm not trying to be cheeky or picky. I just want to know what's about to be in my mouth. I don't think that deserved a "Orange, and you don't get to pick at your age." (They let me pick what color SENSITIVE toothbrush I got at the end. Nice.)
*The Dentist.... was seriously creepy. He had one of those super-calm, patronizing voices. And proceeded to patronize the nurse for the way the X-Ray looked ("I don't like when they have these roll-lines around the edge, we need to not have that happen again, okay?") right in front of me, patronize the receptionist (without her being present) for not calling me in sooner, and then patronize me for the lapse in making appointments, as well as the cavity I now have to get filled (my first ever cavity, by the by).
Look, NOT ONLY was I never informed when my last dentist DIED, NOT ONLY have I already apologized to one person for the lapse in time and explained the lack of insurance, but I was IN THEIR OFFICE a year and a half ago for "emergent" wisdom tooth surgery and they never put me on the call list to set up a cleaning like they said they would when I left. I should have called in the last however many months, but JEEZ if you guys don't have this patient blaming thing down to a T. And one cavity in 25 years in a family with very little money, insurance, or good dental history in general is pretty good, in my personal opinion.
"Can you let yourself out?" was a nice finisher, though. Thanks DH. It was nice seeing you again.
(I also didn't get to see the ADORABLE, nice dentist there. He's the reason I went BACK after the whole "not calling you when your dentist dies" issue, because he treated my infected wisdom teeth with such niceness. My karma must've sucked today!)
AND when I walked out of the office, the bus was actually at the stop (I thought I'd have to wait in the rain). I was literally three feet from the door, about to say "thank you" before boarding, when the bus driver, who was NOT looking at the road in front of her nor at her door she was closing, but to her left, pulled away. Apparently waving and yelling are not things that she would notice.
...how was your day?