Dentist Drama gives me Catholic guilt: how long has it been since your last visit my child?

Yesterday morning while I was eating muesli half of one of my back teeth came off.

I must tell you that I was not entirely surprised that something had happened - but I was not expecting it to be this bad.   I had known there was something up for a couple of weeks, my tooth hurt and I couldn't chew on that side of my mouth - but I thought a filling had worked its way loose.

However yesterday there was no more opportunity for denial.  I looked down at the little lump of tooth in my hand and with a sinking feeling I Knew.

That I would have to go to the dentist.

Readers I confess that I have not visited the dentist for two years.  And it is a confession.  If you're a Catholic then you'll know all about the Confession Box and confessing your sins prior to First Holy Communion and the like.

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And as obviously you didn't actually have any sins at age seven, you had to make some up.  Which in itself was a sin.  Eternal damnation!

As we were extremely lapsed Catholics in our house pretty much the next time I went to Confession was for my Confirmation.  As I sat in the little wooden box up the side of the freezing church making my mumbled Act of Contrition I was struck by the horror of having to tell the priest when was the last time I had confessed.

That's how I feel now.  How can I tell the dentist that I have not darkened a tooth doctor door for over two years.  Even though I knew - I KNEW! - that one of my back molars was about to crack, because they'd "put a watch" on it the last time I was there.

Oh shame on me.

Tell me I'm not alone.  Do you go regularly for your six month checkups - or are you a bit of a lapsed dental patient?

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