What are reasonable steps to take before going in for a dental appointment?
I aim to make my appointments first thing in the morning. I brush my teeth, floss and rinse with mouthwash. I generally don’t use mouthwash but I figure it will help my breath be less offensive. That is skipping breakfast completely, something I regularly do anyway.
When it comes to an afternoon appointment however I always feel I might subject my dentist to harsher working conditions. Should you avoid eating that onion bagel for breakfast? Do you need to make time to brush your teeth before going in? Is chewing some gum enough? Should you avoid eating lunch then heading in? Do dentists even care one way or the other? Do you say who cares what the dentist thinks he’s getting 300 bucks an hour to deal with it?
I brush and floss beforehand because it saves me time. It’s less for them to scrape off. And when they scrape it off they wipe it all over that bib you wear, which totally grosses me out, so the less the better.
[Stephen Wright]My dental hygienist is cute. Every time I visit, I eat a whole package of Oreo cookies while waiting in the lobby. Sometimes she has to cancel the rest of the afternoon’s appointments. [/Stephen Wright]
I’d say no garlic or raw onions the meal before, and brush your teeth. That’s it, really, although flossing would be nice too if you can. Mouthwash? I don’t even own mouthwash. Whatever you do, or don’t do, I’m sure they’ve had worse.
On the other hand, my wife has said her dentist was smelling of garlic once for her early morning appointment.
I asked my dentist & the hygienist this once, and they said it was of absolutely no importance. In fact, they are so used to different smells that they hardly ever even notice it at all. (Except for certain specific smells, that give them indications of some dental problems.) He said patients are often concerned about it, but the dentist & staff don’t notice it at all.
He commented: it’s like the cleaning lady arriving to find a messy house – nothing surprising to her.
My main preparation for the dentist is picking out the appropriate DVD. My dentist allows patients to watch DVDs while she works, and it’s like a vacation for me, rather than a dental appointment. I usually go with Law & Order, because I can watch those episodes an infinite number of times and they still keep me so engrossed that I don’t even notice the instruments in my mouth.
I often joke about finding a good dental movie (i.e. Marathon Man) to watch during an appointment. Once I watched an episode of House, and it turned out that the patient of the week had a jaw infection that was causing his symptoms. When they put the graphic images of his mouth onscreen, I pointed it out to my dentist, who was amused.
Sure but etiquette also says just because the clean ladies coming it’s not OK to shit on the rug. Are there things dentists would prefer you don’t do before showing up?