Uncomfortably Numb

I just went to the dentist's. It turns out not flossing is really bad for you. I had to get scaling done with an ultrasonic scaler. A very weird sensation under the local anesthetic.

I haven't been numb from a dental appointment for... I can't remember if I've ever had local anesthetic. Must've happened in the fog of childhood.

It's been three hours now and I still don't have total control over my face. I keep twitching it around to feel the numbness's line of retreat.

In addition to the scaling, I had an antibiotic delivery to 11 sites in my mouth. This is for areas that the scaler could not reach. Deep in my gums this morning, bacteria was happily farming away at my body. Now, on the right side at least, the bacteria are being visited by a flood of death, awash in apocalyptic antibodies. Die, gum-dwelling scum!

My insurance did not cover this bacteria-culling plague. I'm paying for it. Apparently, the bacteria wasn't far enough along for my insurance company to worry about. I called them to make sure. They said they would wait until I lost structural integrity of these 11 teeth before they would cover treatment. Anyone at MetLife ever hear of preventative care, I ask into the receiver of my phone. Confused silence comes back.

So I'm paying for it. First, because it could spread if left untreated, and who's to say my next dental plan would cover it, either? And second, because the bacteria is transferrable to my "mate," as the dental assistant put it. As I'm about to enter the dating world, I don't want to be that guy who gave a girl gum disease. Gross.