06/10/2025
This super nice lady suffers from dry mouth, where her salivary glands don't produce enough saliva. She was also afraid to go to the dentist and finally chose to come to me after many years of not going...at least not since before the pandemic.
When I sat down to meet her a few weeks ago and looked at the x-rays of her teeth on the computer monitor behind her, I really can't recall what it was that I said to prompt her, but I think the second sentence she spoke to me was "Thank you for not judging me." That nearly brought me to tears. Of course I don't judge her. I'm here to help.
And we started our journey today! It took about 4 hours to get from point A to point B today. I'm grateful to have a supportive office team and family to allow me to arrange to come in today, a day that we are normally closed, to help this patient.
By the way, it's really important to try using saliva substitutes or saliva stimulants to help prevent tooth decay. Look for a spray or gel that preferably has xylitol in it.
