One Point For Starbucks

I went to the dentist today. Which is a harrowing experience as it is, but especially when it's been, oh, two and a half years since the last time I went. And here I was thinking that you're supposed to go every year, but apparently it's every six months. Either way, I was overdue. Between going in and out of having insurance over the past year and a half and not really staying in one place for very long, it's been difficult to put a dentist appointment at the top of my to-do list.

And in the midst of all of this, I started working at Starbucks, the place I have come to frequently complain about. My best friend's dad Dan happens to be my lifelong dentist from growing up. He once told me a horror story about a girl who started working at a coffee shop and when she next had her teeth cleaned showed up with 14 cavities. 14! Can you imagine? Well, I have started to lately.

So I, being the Starbucks pessimist that I am, figured that I could probably be told some pretty bad news during my appointment. How many cavities would I come away with? 12? 19? Needless to say, I was dragging my feet a little when I stepped foot into a new dentist office today for the first time.

Needless tangent: can I just take a moment to describe the office to you? ('I don't know Becca, can you?') MAY I? Ok. All I can say is that you can't really expect anything less in Johnson County. The entire office had high, vaulted ceilings. The decorations were a mixture of upscale southwestern memorabilia in 'Tuscan' colors. (What is Tuscan? I don't know, but I read about it in an article they gave to me regarding the place. Think warm, earthy colors.) There was a flat screen TV inside of the over-sized granite counter the secretary sat behind. Not one, but TWO computers sat with internet access for waiting patients. Around the corner was the kids' area, complete with DVD's and a Wii. The bathroom looked like a facility you would use in the Bellagio...or something. Each chair patients occupied while being worked on had a flat screen with headphones so they could watch shows and movies while having their teeth cleaned. And my personal favorite touch? The BOUTIQUE connected with the office. Having anxiety about your dental appointment? Buy a handbag, or some jewelry! For the record, I did not indulge. End tangent.

So the place was pretty over-the-top. But the staff was honestly very kind, welcoming, and warm. They had a good sense of humor about the millions of x-rays that had to be done in my abnormally small mouth, they were not condescending about the fact that it took me so long to get my teeth looked at, and best of all - they told me I had no cavities! I was so thankful to hear that! It's certainly a blessing. Another blessing? The fluoride treatment didn't make me nauseous like it usually does.

And maybe the biggest blessing of all? My insurance covered everything except for the fluoride treatment, and that was something optional I decided to have them do. God is so good. And Starbucks isn't all bad, afterall.

((If you want to know the one bad piece of news from the visit, you can know that I still need a gum graft. Yes, that's right: taking flesh from one part of my mouth and patching it in over my receding gum lines. Apparently braces paired with my aggressive teeth brushing habits has destroyed much of my gum-line, leaving the roots of some of my teeth exposed. Can you say sensitive teeth? And painful surgery? I'm not going to worry about it today though. Maybe in another two and a half years, or when I become a millionaire.)