How to Get Your Teeth Cleaned Painlessly

I hate the dentist's drill. The sound, the vibrating, the smell of the office or even the tooth bits (sorry!). But at least with the drill, I usually don't feel any pain except for the original shot of Novocaine.

Getting my teeth cleaned is another story. I dread it. That scraping, poking, the zap when the hygienist hits a nerve-literally. If you're like me and have sensitive teeth-or just quiver at the thought of the six-month cleaning (you're kidding-how long has it been for you?), then this is what you need to do:

1.Tell your dental hygienist how scared you are. Don't take the pain silently.

2. Ask her/him to rub your gums before with a lot of that topical numbing stuff (it actually tastes kind of good). And I mean a lot of it. I swear this numbing stuff makes it so much easier. Your hygienist can numb your mouth section by section as she works on it, or she can numb your whole mouth beforehand.

3. If your hygienist balks at this, get up out of the chair and find another one (a hygienist, not a chair). All professionals should be interested in making their clients/patients more comfortable. This is a simple and safe procedure that will make the cleaning go a lot faster and better for both of you.

Enjoy that next cleaning!

Ilene Springer lives in and gets her teeth cleaned in Malta. She is the author of An-American-in-Malta.com.