Tuesday, 13 July 2021
Hygienist Context
The dental surgery where I go recommends visiting the hygienist. In the early days of dental surgery, the hygienist was just another service option. And when the dentist recommended I visit the hygienist, I ignored it or treated it with the same deference. I would treat the line, “would you like fries with that?” with respect but ultimately ignored it until I wanted to use the service. To my mind, I figured I’d never booked in to see one.
Over the years, I matured, and the dentist changed. The stubborn refusal to avoid the hygienist melted, and I decided to take the opportunity to book an appointment with the hygienist. Just to get an appointment took eight months!
Well, what an eye-opener it was to see one. I learnt what a hygienist did; they looked after gum and mouth health where the dentist looked after teeth. The hygienist measured gum health by calling out numbers.
At my first visit, the numbers were high, like threes and fours. Smug in my ignorance, I thought this was good. Until, of course, the hygienist almost shoved a bottle of brushing solution into my mouth. I’m sure it’s out of care and passion for their desire to rid the world of patients with poor mouth hygiene! 😁
Because hygienists look after gum and teeth health, there was also corrective instruction on brushing my teeth. At the age of 53, I thought I knew it all, and what was wrong with the way I brushed my teeth anyway? It turns out I was cleaning the teeth and gums too hard, believing that brushing harder must be better. Not so. Correct technique, gentle and longer brushing times are more effective, apparently.
More Recommendations from Hygienist
The next thing the hygienist corrected was getting rid of my toothpaste. Eh. That was okay; I was struggling to try to find a toothpaste I liked. Then came the shock; no longer would I used a “paste”, but I would use, at the time, a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution!
These days I’m not proud of my reaction, but it went something like this: No. Nuh-uh! Never! Are you kidding me?! Then I shook. In my head, the words hydrogen peroxide (3% solution) were associated with my mother in pain as she had cleaned her ear wax with it when I was younger; it also got confused for hydrogen chloride and ammonia for some reason.
A small part of my brain must have remained logical because I purchased a bottle and the dentist’s Perio Mix. You mash the Perio Mix into a paste and push it into the gaps between teeth after brushing, then drool like a St Bernard for a few minutes and rinse it out. You only need to use this stuff until your gums no longer suffer gingivitis.
Over the years, the dentist improved the hydrogen peroxide with other additives, making it taste better and leaving your mouth with a better minty feeling. The solution by Nutrition Diagnostics is expensive but lasts a long time and is both “paste” and mouthwash replacement in one.
Flossing is Essential
My flossing is sporadic and was non-existent for at least 20 years of my life, as were dental visits. Flossing also took a backseat when I broke my ankle, standing at the sink with a cast trying to floss, went into the too hard basket.
Today’s visit to the hygienist was all about teeth-cleaning, a reminder to take flossing seriously and to focus the toothbrush with the brushing solution into the base of the teeth with gentle firmness but not hard. Hard might damage the gum and be contrary to what we’re trying to achieve.
By the end of the visit, my mouth had been bleeding. Apparently, I have difficulty reaching the back teeth when flossing (cough) and brushing correctly in this area. Some bacteria can form at the base of the tooth, like barnacles on a boat.
Once established, these bacteria irritate the gum and are difficult, if not impossible, to remove. Hence, why flossing is essential, the hygienist cleaning can file away some of them, but prevention is better than the cure.
It was a tough visit, but I’m better with receiving instruction on teeth cleaning, and it’s worthwhile for the reminder to floss. I particularly like the analogy of the barnacles and bacteria, which gave me a better understanding of why flossing is crucial before I brush.
My visit today was my third to the hygienist, and since my first visit, my gum numbers have improved; they now sit in the ones and twos. According to Smiles by Andrews, the closer the number is to zero, the better your gum health; ones, twos and threes are considered “normal”. Yay! I’m mostly normal!
Today's Cards
Hygienist Card Analysis
Carryover Cards
Two cards carried over from yesterday; The Master moved from Distant Past to Goal and Slowing Down went from Influence to Distant Past.
Cross
Projections in the Now are influenced by Sorrow, which just about sums up my hygienist visit. Projections are what I hope the hygienist is saying versus the Sorrow she might be feeling. My Goal today was The Master; I find visiting the dental clinic/ surgery challenging. Therefore, being separate and unaffected by the visit and not running from it is my Goal.
In the Recent Past, Compromise tried to balance taking the day off to see the hygienist and going in for a meeting immediately afterwards. The Compromise was to delay the start of the meeting, which allowed me to utilise a few moments to bask in the beauty of the beach to meditate. It’s my way of stopping to smell the roses and recreating for myself the Slowing Down I’d experienced in the Distant Past.
The Future Energy has the card of Fighting. I can relate to this because I think the teeth cleaning stirred up something, and I felt a little bit nauseous. Being nauseous for no identifiable reason put me on edge. Fortunately, no one noticed (just sneaking a look at the Others’ Views card 😏).
Base
My Feelings on today’s visit is that my level of Trust in the hygienist has increased, and I no longer feel the service is an “up sale”. Wow! How I’ve matured.
Others’ Views is Beyond Illusion and means the effort and improvement for my teeth and gum hygiene are recognised and noted.
My inner Hopes & Fears is I still feel like The Outsider. This outsider fear is related to the sadness about not including mouth hygiene in my life earlier. My hope is it’s not too late.
Finally, Ice-olation in the Outcome position seems to echo The Outsider card in the Hopes & Fears position. I’m going to liken this to the experience of having a hygienist appointment and feeling nauseous afterwards. I didn’t feel I could relate the experience to anyone who would understand it.
References & Related
- Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
- Related – Day 154 Dental Day Bliss
