You know you're ghetto when...

Have you ever received that email forward that has a random list of "ghetto" stuff and you're supposed to calculate how "ghetto" you are? Well, I've received that email a lot (should I be offended?) and I always thought one of the "ghetto-isms" was funny as hell. You know the one that says, "You've never been to the dentist." At the time I was with "the ex" and he had never been to the dentist EVER in his whole life. So when I read that in the email, it rang true.

But I almost ghetto-fied myself because, before today, I hadn't been to the dentist in 4 years. Ya'p, my last dentist visit was in 2003 in Charlotte, NC. I remember it vividly because I had gone in for a routine cleaning, but came out with swollen gums, numbness, and new metal in my mouth. See, when the doctor checked my x-rays he noticed 2 huge cavities that were extremely close to hitting nerves (which would've meant 2 root canals). I didn't have time to even think about anything because before I knew it, he'd reclined my chair, handed me some headphones, and started the drill. It wasn't bad though; he'd given me the novacaine shot (twice) so I couldn't feel anything. And I never got the routine cleaning I went in for.

When I received a coupon in the mail a couple of weeks ago for a dentist's office around the corner ($39 for cleaning, xrays, and initial consult with the doc), I had to take the deal. I'd been experiencing pain while eating sweets for months and assumed I had about 3 cavities in various spots. I got a really thorough cleaning by an extra talkative, but nice, hygenist (she said it would've costed me about $300 because it was not a normal cleaning). My really cute doctor, Dr. Jimmy, got even cuter when he told me my teeth looked great on the xrays. He did his little check (nothing compared to that damn cleaning) and that was it. I paid my $39 and left the office without ever mentioning the pain I've been having.

My friend Chrissy said I should've told Dr. Jimmy about my pain because the xrays could've missed something. In retrospect, I should've. I was just so excited for a dental visit to go well, I wanted to believe that nothing was wrong. I'm gonna give my mouth some time to heal; I'll go back and tell Dr. Jimmy to hurt me...hurt me so good.

With Dr. Jimmy as my dentist, I'll never go "ghetto" again.