she-roes walk among us

After months of stalling, I finally saw my dentist last week. 

I'm a dental weenie on the best of days, so getting a teeth cleaning after nine months of half-hearted flossing and semi-rigorous brushing, during a pandemic, was obviously going to be a challenge.

So there are pre-appointment questionnaires now, inquiring about fevers and coughs and contact with sick people. I answered no to everything even though I had a couple of "is it covid or is it allergies?" sore throat mornings recently. 

I walked to the dental office, wanting to avoid the bus and the covid-19 outbreak on campus, so that was an 80 minute hike. I forgot where I stashed my CBD mints so it was cold turkey until I could get the nitrous clamped on.

Now you text when you get to the dental office instead of sailing in to catch up on Us Magazine, and since I was on foot, I stood around outside in the parking lot, until a text summoned me to Entrance A. My hygienist awaited with hand sanitizer, disposable masks (in case I wasn't wearing mine and yes there are jerks who show up maskless), and a thermometer.

More questions once I was in the chair, some kind of fancy filter running right beside me, all of us masked up, the hygienists and dentist in gowns and face shields. There were blood pressure checks and x-rays and gum measurements aka bleedy gums time. For the microsonic cleaning I held my own water suction tube, and the hygienist had her own giant water suction tube. Two of us whisking every last drop of saliva out of my mouth.

Dental hygienists are on the front lines of contamination, which I hadn't realized. Where else are aerosol droplets going to fly so freely but the dental chair? Mine discontinued the baking soda treatment, where they shoot tiny needles of baking soda directly into your freshly cleaned gums. Too much aerosol generated. It's the oral equivalent of a polar bear plunge. I can't say I'll miss it.

After the dentist breezed in and out--quick check of the teef, brief commiserations--I was shown to Entrance B, where I paid for the nitrous and waved good-bye and walked through the empty waiting room and back out to the parking lot. It was a stressful 70 minutes, and I'm already dreading the next one in February 2021.

Meanwhile, these she-roes do this day in and out. This is their normal. They don't get paid nearly enough. Godspeed dental workers and be safe.