Health Update: Dentist & Dermatologist

This post is about my recent appointments at the dentist and dermatologist.

It is March now which means all my appointments start happening again. Some of them I only have to do yearly, but others I do every six months. I scheduled them for March (and then September) intentionally. Even though Covid is a year-round concern, these two months seem to have lower levels than others.

I am one of those chronically ill, disabled people who is still masking everywhere I go outside my house and around other people when they come to my home/yard. I'm still isolating at home with my spouse and our pets. Luckily, my spouse works from home and matches my precautions in regards to trying to keep our home safe from any illnesses we can prevent.

We get our groceries and supplies delivered to our house and only rarely go out into public to obtain items. I have a standing massage appointment every other week with a masseuse who masks with me. This I consider a health appointment as consistently getting this body work helps keep my fibromyalgia in check. In the current lifestyle I lead, the riskiest places I frequent are the clinics I go to for my health appointments.

During the times when my appointments are happening, my anxiety increases. It seems as though any solidarity that once existed has dissipated and anyone still taking precautions is viewed as a strange outlier, regardless of the reasoning for their actions. Before all of my appointments, I either write a message in my online communications with my providers or call ahead of time to request that anyone seeing me wear a mask. Even when people oblige, no one at the front desk is wearing a mask, so every time I go to one of my HEALTH appointments, I am opening myself up to unavoidable risks.

Before each visit, my brain circles in a loop trying to mentally prepare for any push-back I may receive for wearing a mask and/or requesting those around me wear a mask too. I never bother asking the front desk people to put one on because if their entire job is to be front-facing with the public (who are also mostly unmasked and often obviously symptomatic with something) and they've chosen not to protect themselves or all the other people they will interact with in a day, they clearly do not care enough to take the simplest action to protect me in the few moments we will be interacting. I have had some healthcare providers huff a bit when I asked if they have a mask they could put on with me, but so far, no one has refused my request. I still think about what I will do or say if that happens. I've mostly landed on 1) asking if there is someone else who could help me that will mask and then 2) getting up and leaving to go home and find a new provider who won't refuse. I previously had a dentist, dermatologist, and doctor that would all mask with me without complaint, but recently that has changed which has made me feel uneasy.

When my March dentist appointment was getting close, my dentist office messaged me to confirm it. It was a little earlier than they usually send my confirmation request, but I confirmed it. The very next day, I got a new message saying that my hygienist had left, and I would need to reschedule my appointment. This was upsetting as I really liked my hygienist.

When I called to reschedule, I requested a hygienist that takes masking seriously and would wear one for the entirety of my appointment, including when they came to get me from the waiting room. They said they would note my file with the request. When they were scheduling my checkup and my extra slot for a new night guard fitting, they mentioned a different dentist's name, and I clarified to say that I wanted to still see my current dentist. Only then did they tell me that my dentist was no longer with the company either. (Way to bury the lede!) I then requested a female dentist as in my experience they seem to be more compassionate to my previous teeth trauma and it's impact on my current care. My new appointment was moved up a few days from when my other one was scheduled, so it ended up on the same week as my dermatologist checkup, whereas before I had only one appointment per week in March.

I went to my scheduled dentist appointment, and the person who came to get me from the waiting room was masked. The first room that B***** took me to the chair didn't work, and when she gave me sunglasses off the table in the new room, they were all smudged & dirty (so maybe already used?). She tried to say something about how when they clean them they sometimes leave a film, while I was using my shirt to try to clean them off because I literally couldn't see through them. I guess I need to start bringing my own sunglasses in for my dentist appointments. B***** (who told me she just started filling in at my clinic and is currently not yet licensed so can only do certain tasks) scanned my mouth for a new night guard. She was slamming the machine against my teeth and couldn't get it to work in one spot so had to ask another person for help.

Then, S***** was my hygienist. She sings along to the music while she manually cleaned my teeth with the metal scraper (instead of the gentle water scaler my old hygienist used to use). Said she preferred to "feel it" as she cleans. S***** is currently pregnant. Due in October. She has a bunch of the same health issues as me (fibro, ovarian cysts, kidney stones) and would be using Lyrica & cannabis for her fibro but had to wean off because of the baby. She talked nonstop.

The new dentist came in unmasked. S***** gave her one to put on as like a hint, and she just held it for awhile before then putting it on. She then asked me if she should be masked for me, and I said something like, "My precautions have kept me safe so far, so I'm trying to maintain them." After the dentist left the room, I thanked S***** for handing the dentist the mask, and she said she respected me for my precautions "especially because of your fibro." S***** has also had Covid 3 or 4 times.

The dentist said my teeth look good, but there's a "bubble" in the gums above the bridge in the front of my mouth, so I have a referral to see an endodontist as that might be a sign of reinfection. I'm very scared about it because I value my bridge so much. The dentist said something about going into my gums to scrape it out. I had an x-ray there during my appointment, and it didn't show infection. But she wants me to have my follow-up with the endodontist just to be safe.

S***** also talked me into a $68 fluoride treatment that's "like rain-x for your teeth" and will keep them extra protected for 6 months. I have to go back in a couple weeks to pick up my night guard which will be a hard kind (not soft like I have now) because that's what this dentist prefers. I'm just happy it's a bottom one and they didn't force me to get a top one like a past dentist who lied to me saying bottom ones aren't a thing. I am not looking forward to going back in to pick up my night guard because it will require me to pop it into my mouth for any final touches to ensure the fit is correct.

I usually book my next appointment before I leave, so I don't have it hanging over my head as something to do later. S***** asked me if we could wait to schedule my next 6 month check-up until later that day when she would call me once her assistant was in because right now her schedule wasn't set up for that far out. I acquiesced. I didn't get a call that day. I haven't gotten one since either. When I was scheduling a different appointment in September, I saw that I had a dentist appointment already on the calendar for that month. I must've scheduled it during my last visit, but either way the people it was supposed to be with no longer work there.

I asked both B***** & S***** if they knew why my hygienist and/or my dentist left. They're both so new and said they didn't know. I said their departure seemed pretty abrupt, but I was informed that dentists have to give a 90 day notice before they leave. I doubt that applies if they were fired though, and I have no idea what went down. I can only speculate. My new dentist just started at my clinic the week before my visit and isn't on their website yet.

The front desk person was different too, and a bunch of dentist photos are no longer on the wall. The hvac was getting worked on by a maintenance crew, and the entryway smelled like something was burning. Also, there was a sign up that the restroom was unavailable, and people would need to use the employee one. There were lots of changes. It felt very chaotic.

I think I'm in the market for a new dentist, and I am continually doing an internet search to find my most recent dentist who left as she was my favorite dentist I’ve had. The internet still shows her at my current clinic. Because both my hygienist and dentist left, I am secretly hoping they are going to start somewhere else together. (Maybe they even took the old receptionist too?) If that is the case, I will check to see if they take my insurance. Even if it is further away from my home, I would be willing to travel for them after my recent experience.

I ended up crying off and on for most of the day after my dentist appointment. I don't talk about my teeth trauma much, even though I write about a lot of the traumas I've gone through in life. The short version is that my front teeth got knocked out right after my permanent ones came in. Only one of them was found and shoved back into my mouth. I went for many years with only one front tooth. My peers were extremely cruel about it, and I had a lot of difficult feelings around the situation which were made worse because of the bullying I received about it.

When I got braces, I had a spring between my one front tooth and another tooth to create enough space for a fake tooth on a retainer. I had that for many years until I saved up thousands of dollars to get a bridge installed. I still often have nightmares about my teeth, especially during times of stress, and anytime I have issues with my bridge (I've had two root canals in the same tooth that potentially has an infection right now.) my anxiety increases along with the fear I may lose the teeth I currently have or require further expensive dental work.

Most people who know me now don't realize (or remember) that my front teeth are fake. It doesn't come up in conversation much. Even my high school bff, who I've known for over twenty years, had to recently ask me how I lost my teeth because she didn't remember the story. That's how little I discuss it. The event itself seems mundane to others, but it was one of the most traumatic things to ever happen to me. The aftermath was even worse, so I am very sensitive about anything that reminds me of that time. I always have to talk about it with a new dentist, endodontist, or tooth professional. My chart literally has “Tooth Trauma” written in it.

After my other appointment that week, when I was able to focus again, I called the endodontist's office to schedule my appointment with them. It is a place I have visited before for a root canal. Unfortunately, they are so booked out that I cannot get in to be seen until May, so I will have weeks to worry. The person who set up my appointment was very helpful, and they said it might be the case where I need a "surgery" where they go in through the gums to scrape out the top of the area where the infection could be. I am not looking forward to it, but I am now mentally preparing for this possibility.

It will almost definitely require two appointments with them. I asked if I could just schedule them back-to-back on that same day, so I could have my evaluation and then whatever procedure immediately afterwards. I was told they can't set it up that way since they don't know exactly what the second appointment will be yet. I was hoping I could just do it all in one trip, to limit my exposures, but also to just get it over with.

My dermatologist appointment was two days after my dentist appointment. I was still a little emotionally frazzled, and because I always try for first-thing-in-the-morning appointment slots, I was operating on less sleep than usual which also impacts my ability to regulate my emotions. My spouse came with me for my dermatologist appointment because his was scheduled around the same time. The people we saw were all masked without having to ask in person. (I sent a written request through my chart for both of us the day before our visit.)

For the second time in a row, during my six-month checkup, I did not have to have any spots on my body removed during my full body review. This is amazing news as I have previously had skin cancer, and I've had lots of concerning and/or pre-cancerous spots taken as well. I did have a little spot of something happening on my back that they gave me steroid cream to use twice a day for up to two weeks until it cleared up.

My spouse had one questionable spot removed from his back, so we are caring for each other's backs right now. I help him put antibiotic spray on his wound before covering it with a bandage, and he puts the steroid cream on my spot that I can't really reach myself. I have no idea how I would be able to care for this if he wasn't around, but fortunately that is a moot issue currently.

Because of my previous skin cancer, I visit the dermatologist every six months, but my spouse only has to visit once a year. We have our appointments set up for next March already, and I have mine for September on the calendar as well. Still this month, I have my yearly physical with my primary doctor, my yearly mammogram, and my appointment to pick up my night guard. (They actually called to schedule that one at the dentist while I was writing this today.) I was hoping that I would have the months between March and September free of appointments (besides my massages and any acute events that may or may not happen), but since I have to see the endodontist in May now, it looks like I won't get that long of a reprieve. With all of my chronic conditions, it was probably foolish of me to think I could go that long anyway.

However, I will be pumped if I don't need any further ones beyond the endodontist. There's a reason why I'm still so cautious about exposing myself to preventable illnesses, because I know that so much of what happens within my body is already out of my control. Anything I can do to help myself manage my current conditions, without obtaining more, is crucial to both my physical and mental health.

Sometimes when I write about my appointments and the stress that surrounds them, I fear that I am talking people out of going to their own. As much as I would like to avoid being around unmasked people and hot spots of illness like health clinics, I know that these "preventative" visits are necessary. I remember what it was like to not have any health insurance when I had to weigh every health problem against the potential cost. While having insurance doesn't completely remove the cost/risk analysis of seeking health care, there are a lot of things it does cover, and I will be utilizing it for as long as I can, even when the visits increase my anxiety. I've always been the person who would rather know than not know, even if the knowing comes with it's own worries. I do what I can, when I can, with what I have to try to live the best life I can while I'm here, and that includes going to see health professionals multiple times a year.

If you've been putting off receiving health care, this is a gentle reminder to do it. It is almost always better to do it sooner rather than later. While this is only anecdotal, I have been able to attend my check-ups (yearly and every six months) at the dentist, dermatologist, and doctor safely, without catching anything, since we learned about Covid. I've had mammograms, CT scans, and MRIs (including two that I couldn't wear my mask during due to my anxiety & claustrophobia) without picking up something from the unmasked people in the waiting rooms & buildings. I even had one vaccine appointment where the person giving me the shot was unmasked (before I was comfortable requesting someone mask when they weren't). It is possible to continue/start your health appointments and maintain your precautions (at least in my experience/area).

Even though it feels like the world is on fire, crashing and burning all around me, my personal health is actually in a good spot comparatively. Some days I feel a bit guilty about that because my mental health is also in a way better place than it has been for most of my life. Hopefully sharing my personal experiences publicly will help someone because that's basically the entire reason I share my writings with anyone. I plan to post another piece after my upcoming appointments, and in the meantime, I will be writing again about different topics as well. I'll be continuing to care for myself as best I can so that I will hopefully have the bandwidth to help others too.

~The Overstimulated

Some pics from my dermatologist appointment.