I've been meaning to post this for a while now but all kind of little things have gotten me sidetracked (stay in hospital, Dad dying, chemo therapy - you know, the minutia of life). I had my first visit to the dentist in about seven... well, maybe nine... okay, more like twelve years a couple weeks back. I'd broken a tooth and I called upon a friend of mine from high school that is now a dentist for an emergency fix. I was planning on tagging him with the nickname Giant Dentist (he's 6'4" easy) but his hands were so delicate and his work so remarkable I'm going to call him Gentle Genius Dentist. I was going to call his wife Miss Bossy Pants and that part hasn't changed.
It all started a couple weeks before when I met up with Gentle Genius Dentist (GGD from here on out) and Miss Bossy Pants (no abbreviation as I'm enjoying her nickname so much) for a dinner in the foodie mecca of Bangor, ME. In my experience dinning options in Bangor are truly unlimited - provided you only want to eat at low to mid-range national chain restaurant. Luckily, GGD and Miss Bossy Pants (makes me smile every time I type it and I'm sure GGD is laughing quietly, hoping she doesn't notice) have excellent taste and they suggested a fantastic place called Massimo's. Massimo's is, thankfully, not a chain and is probably the best place in Bangor - nice little plug for the place and I don't know a single person there. If anyone reading this does know the owners tell them they owe me some advertising fees.
It's important to point out that GGD and Miss Bossy Pants (still funny) have been together since high school, got married shortly thereafter and have something like eleven children. It may only be four girls, I'm not 100% sure on this but really more than one and I'm impressed. We hadn't seen each other in at least nine years, possibly not since we all graduated nearly twenty years ago. Amazingly, they looked exactly as I remembered them. We caught up on everything that had gone on in our lives over the last couple of decades and all that jazz but mostly I was fascinated about the kids. We talked a lot about the kids and as loyal followers of this blog they knew all about my trip to the sperm bank when the whole cancer odyssey began.
I don't think I've touched on it yet in any posts but my Lovely Girlfriend and I were trying to conceive at the same time as the sperm bank visits (not the exact same time that would have been against the Sperm Bank Rules and would have made the whole "getting a clean specimen" extremely difficult). Due to a miscalculation on monthlys it turned out we were barking up the wrong tree but damn if it wasn't the best time I've ever had being wrong. Also, can you imagine the pressure that kid would have been under growing up had we succeeded? I know I wouldn't want to grow up as The Miracle Cancer Baby, would you?
GGD and Miss Bossy Pants encouraged me to come by for a dental check up but I assured them that my teeth did not require dentistry. I'd seen a dentist back in the mid-90's and was given a clean bill of health. I saw no reason to seek a second opinion. He tried to convince me that the American Dental Association has been recommending twice a year check-ups for at least the last thirty years but I wasn't buying into that Ponzi Scheme. Then he lunged at me and tried to pry open my mouth while Miss Bossy Pants egged him on! Alright, that last part didn't happen, we had a lovely dinner and they picked up the check. Thanks again guys, next time dinner's on me but let's try a different place. I've heard good things about this new joint, Applebee's.
So when my tooth broke I figured this would be GGD's chance to finally pay me back for all those terrible things I used to say about him in high school. I imagined myself tied to one of those old dental chairs while he took a hammer and chisel to my nearly perfect face. Turns out he must have never known about all those terrible things I said because I never felt a thing! Not the needle, not the burn from the novocaine, not the drill, and not the pick-thingy (technical term), not a damn thing! He saw me right away on essentially no notice, I was in the chair for only a hot minute and he saved the tooth! It was broken in half down to the gumline and he saved the freakin tooth! You see now why I call him Gentle Genius Dentist? I'll save why I call his wife Miss Bossy Pants for another post.
It all started a couple weeks before when I met up with Gentle Genius Dentist (GGD from here on out) and Miss Bossy Pants (no abbreviation as I'm enjoying her nickname so much) for a dinner in the foodie mecca of Bangor, ME. In my experience dinning options in Bangor are truly unlimited - provided you only want to eat at low to mid-range national chain restaurant. Luckily, GGD and Miss Bossy Pants (makes me smile every time I type it and I'm sure GGD is laughing quietly, hoping she doesn't notice) have excellent taste and they suggested a fantastic place called Massimo's. Massimo's is, thankfully, not a chain and is probably the best place in Bangor - nice little plug for the place and I don't know a single person there. If anyone reading this does know the owners tell them they owe me some advertising fees.
It's important to point out that GGD and Miss Bossy Pants (still funny) have been together since high school, got married shortly thereafter and have something like eleven children. It may only be four girls, I'm not 100% sure on this but really more than one and I'm impressed. We hadn't seen each other in at least nine years, possibly not since we all graduated nearly twenty years ago. Amazingly, they looked exactly as I remembered them. We caught up on everything that had gone on in our lives over the last couple of decades and all that jazz but mostly I was fascinated about the kids. We talked a lot about the kids and as loyal followers of this blog they knew all about my trip to the sperm bank when the whole cancer odyssey began.
I don't think I've touched on it yet in any posts but my Lovely Girlfriend and I were trying to conceive at the same time as the sperm bank visits (not the exact same time that would have been against the Sperm Bank Rules and would have made the whole "getting a clean specimen" extremely difficult). Due to a miscalculation on monthlys it turned out we were barking up the wrong tree but damn if it wasn't the best time I've ever had being wrong. Also, can you imagine the pressure that kid would have been under growing up had we succeeded? I know I wouldn't want to grow up as The Miracle Cancer Baby, would you?
GGD and Miss Bossy Pants encouraged me to come by for a dental check up but I assured them that my teeth did not require dentistry. I'd seen a dentist back in the mid-90's and was given a clean bill of health. I saw no reason to seek a second opinion. He tried to convince me that the American Dental Association has been recommending twice a year check-ups for at least the last thirty years but I wasn't buying into that Ponzi Scheme. Then he lunged at me and tried to pry open my mouth while Miss Bossy Pants egged him on! Alright, that last part didn't happen, we had a lovely dinner and they picked up the check. Thanks again guys, next time dinner's on me but let's try a different place. I've heard good things about this new joint, Applebee's.
So when my tooth broke I figured this would be GGD's chance to finally pay me back for all those terrible things I used to say about him in high school. I imagined myself tied to one of those old dental chairs while he took a hammer and chisel to my nearly perfect face. Turns out he must have never known about all those terrible things I said because I never felt a thing! Not the needle, not the burn from the novocaine, not the drill, and not the pick-thingy (technical term), not a damn thing! He saw me right away on essentially no notice, I was in the chair for only a hot minute and he saved the tooth! It was broken in half down to the gumline and he saved the freakin tooth! You see now why I call him Gentle Genius Dentist? I'll save why I call his wife Miss Bossy Pants for another post.
Jules, as a fellow blogger, I might suggest that you not only MENTION Massimo's in a post, but you also should link their name in your post to their website (http://www.massimoscucinaitaliana.com/) so that people can easily get to their website, get directions, and plan their first meal there. And, after your rave reviews, I will be checking Massimo's out on my next trip to Bangor. (I posted that so you can prove to them that your review helped them get a new customer...I am sure the checks and free meals will now start rolling in!).
ReplyDeleteGreat post, glad your dental visit went so well. I hope you scheduled your next one for 2023. 12 years between visits seems sensible to me! - Beth