Dr. Tatiana Zhukovsky, my Russian dentist, is the sexiest woman ever to put her hands in my mouth. Her partner, Dr. Faranak Aliabadi, is another, drippy-voiced siren. These women, in their late 30s, early forties, are dyed blonde, in great shape, and svelted up like Arianna Huffington. In a word, they’re fierce.
I so love going to the dentist, not only because I have great teeth and therefore expect no bad news, but because my dentist is such a magnificent creature to behold. She’s professional, personable, and very good at what she does.
Late last year, she informed me that my only filling, a 22-year-old job, had worn enough to allow leaking of fluids into the old cavity. This leakage had gone on so long that the tooth had weakened and would eventually cause problems. Since I’m all about preventative dental care, I signed up for an expensive process in which she removes the old metal filling, takes a mold of the cavity, its host tooth, and the immediately surrounding teeth and gums, and two weeks later installs a permanent, anatomically correct porcelain onlay, seals it, and presto-chango, I’m good ’til my dying days.
When I showed up a few days ago, cash in hand, for the process, I was expecting only to be x-rayed and molded, a quick, painless process that would last ten minutes. In addition, Dr. Aliabadi cleaned my teeth and numbed me up with an injection of something very nice. She was so smooth, I didn’t even feel a needle prick. Then, Dr. Z came in to do the dirty work. She carefully selected the right drill bit, snapped it into her tool, and scooped out a filling I haven’t thought about since I was 18 years old. What fascinated me about this part of the procedure is that the removal of the old couldn’t have taken her more than a minute. I rinsed.
And felt the hole in my tooth. It was much bigger than I thought it was, nearly the entire interior of the large molar. Dr. Z. saw me trying to manage a mirror in my mouth so I could see. She bid me follow her, which I did, well, because she’s Dr. Z. She led me to a room with a video hookup for a small camera she can stick in your mouth, fired up the monitor overhead, and showed me my empty cavity.
It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. Dr. Z. laughed because most people apparently are uninterested in seeing their dental flaws in high-definition. Nonsense! Our bodies in their perfect and failed states are amazing structures. Something actually worth geeking out about.
Shortly after the video demonstration, an assistant stuffed a temporary filling into the hole, helped it set with the world’s smallest blow dryer, and bid me adieu, see ya in two weeks. In the meantime, no sticky candy, no gum, no ice cubes or hard, crunchy foods.
Can’t wait to go back!