Ugh, I am suck a sucker for things sometimes. And my dentist (who I have been to see twice since I moved here), has managed to prey on that fact. So I go in for my 6 month cleaning on my last day off from work on Tuesday of this week. I already had to change the appointment one time, and went from having a hygenist that I like, to having the one that I had the first time who talked my ear off, told me her life story, and took 2 hours to clean my teeth -- really, I thought they only made half hour time slots for these things!
So this time I went in kind of nervous and dreading the appointment - don't know if it was because I was pregnant and nervous, or just dreading seeing this hygenist or what, because I have never been nervous to go to the dentist in my life!
Anywho, I head on in (despite the rain and gloominess of it being my last day off), and get there about 10 minutes early, check in, and wait....until 9:15 (appt was at 9), finally go in, tell the lady I'm 14 weeks pregnant and she starts in on the standard questions, medically at first about any bleeding in my gums etc. Then onto the more fun stuff like names and finding out the gender. Meanwhile my mouth is cranked open so speaking on my end is rather difficult aside from the tools she is using to scrape my teeth, I mean clean my teeth.
I make it through the appointment but not before she tells me "I've made my decision, and if it's okay with the doctor, I'd like you to use a special toothpaste and mouth rinse - it will last you 3 months and isn't as expensive and tastes better than some others out there".
I nod and then the dentist comes in. He says the same thing about the special toothpaste and mouth rinse - giving me some blabber about how the research in gum disease is getting better, and being pregnant we need to make sure that my oral health is in tip top shape since any infection I can get can go to the baby too. Keep in mind, I had no cavaties this check up, my gums bled a little (but that is because I don't floss as I should - I'll be changing that mind you). But no detrimental damage or infections on my end. I ask several times, 'are you sure this is medically neccessary for me to take this' and 'are you sure this is safe for me to take while pregnant' (yes, I'm neurotic like that, making sure everything I put in my body is safe for our baby - I've never read so many food labels or asked waitresses so many questions in my life - hard to believe I know). They both say yes, definetaly.
Then I after finding out the price *grip a chair or something here* .. $47, yes, $47 dollars! I ask the hygenist again if it is absolutely necessary, and she says yes and proceeds to tell me this story of a woman (I guess she read it somewhere), who had some sort of oral health related infection and it transpired into a lung infection for her baby, and the baby died. Nice, almost as good as when my Dr (not the OB we like, but her replacement until she comes back from maternity leave), told us a story about a mother who had a pregnancy of bliss to have the baby and then the baby died 3 days later due to a chromosomal abnormality...to try to convince us to get a test done that may or may not be accurate and wasn't even diagnostic, and insurance wouldn't cover. Anyway, another story for another time.
So I went ahead and bought the stuff. For $47! Took it home, read up on it more - "if swallowed call poison control"..hmm.. very comforting...J gets home, I tell him the whole story and he about has a heart attack right in our living room. As he should have given the extreme price of this mess and the fact that this dentist is known for trying to sell things to patients (specifically me, he tried to get me to buy a night guard, unneccessary). So we talk about it some more, and the fact that I'm already nervous to use it for the whole poison thing, and decide it's best to just take it back the next day and get a refund. Well, lo and behold, I stopped by at lunch (between 12-1 because they close for lunch from 1-2 and are closed on Fridays - again, dont' get me started), and they took it back! And I got my money back. Hallelujah. Next up, I must find another dentist. I think I will go to J"s and just find a time when I'm off on a weekday or work late.
A fiasco no? I'm just glad it's over. I'll be good to brush like normal w/ my normal stand up Colgate toothpaste, floss daily, and use listerine mouth rinse and be fine thankyouverymuch. Ugh.
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Glad you got to take it back and shame on them. Keep going with Colgate Total it is the best toothpaste for your oral health and keep up a good oral routine and you should be fine. Pregnancy causes increased hormone levels though and you can get something called pregnancy gingivitis which is common but tends to go away after the birth. Good luck, you'll be fine without that expensive stuff.
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