How often do you visit the dentist?

[anarres]

This poll came after a visit to the dentist and the booze poll came after a couple of G&T's...

[smalltalk]

I don't like doctors as professionals. I got one as a friend, but otherwise, I'm happy not to see them. So I don't see them until something hurts.

As a child, I went regularely to the dentist. This got me quite some fillings. Then I stopped any visits for a decade and a half. Unfortunately, one of those old fillings began to wear out and fell apart. Silly me ran around with an open tooth until it really began to hurt, so I finally had to see a dentist again.

He said that the root had to be extracted. When I saw him coming with this one-inch long hairline drill, I went sissy.

I said: Hold it! I won't have this down into my jaw. Just fill up that cavity.
He went, that would be a Kunstfehler - failure of medical art - and that I would be experiencing unknown pains and that I would come and throw dirt after him.

But he was a nice guy, so after some arguing, he did what I wanted him to and just filled up the gaping hole.

Up to now, I haven't had any problems with this tooth. And I wonder, have I just been one of those rare lucky cases? Or was the dentist just taking care of the possible 20% risk of cases that would turn bad - and then sue him?

Doctors seem to be so sure. Whereas I feel you can never be sure of something, before you do it. Medicine is based on statictics. But does statistics really apply to any individual person?

Of course, I suffer from a severe medical phobia, but that doesn't mean that doctors are always right.