How I Manifested the Dentist That I Wanted

So, I was at my dentist a couple of weeks ago for my regular six month cleaning and check-up when I heard two things that no one wants to hear.

"Number 31 has a crack in it." And...
"Let's do fillings on numbers 28 and 29."

Now, I didn't have any decay -- I take scrupulous care of my teeth and I'm not much of a sugar fan. But I had two small spots of enamel erosion on the front of two teeth -- indents, not so much holes -- that had been there since I was a teenager, maybe younger. I probably got them after eating citrus fruits. The dentist said one of them got bigger so he wanted to fill them. 

The cracked tooth, however, had me worried. I was asked if I grind my teeth at night -- I'm 99.9% sure that I don't. I'm the most stress free person that I know. The dentist said the top tooth was most likely striking the one on the bottom and caused a crack next to the filling. I think more than likely it was my fondness for popcorn, nuts, or pomegranate seeds that was the culprit. At any rate, it just needed a new filling to fix it -- not a crown, inlay, or any of that major restorative stuff (this is why it's a good idea to see the dentist every six months, to catch those minor problems before they become bigger ones.)

Anyways, I have a great dentist -- I've been going to his practice since I was 20 years old. But I didn't want him to do the work on my teeth. I wanted his son to do it. His son joined the practice a couple of years ago after graduating from dental school and additional specialized training. He's a peach. Dad is...well, let's just say dad doesn't have the most sparkling of personalities. Nor does he have much bedside manner; it's all business. If your jaw starts shaking (like mine will do when getting a filling) he just ignores it or asks if you can try to make it stop (ha...good luck with that.)


But his son will put a block in your mouth to bite down on if that starts happening to you, as I found out when he replaced an old filling I had over the summer. He really goes the extra mile in making sure you're comfortable. He also inherited his mother's personality (she runs the front desk.) In fact when he joined the practice I remember getting the letter announcement in the mail saying that patients were raving about him and the fact he took after his mom. 

The day I had my check-up the son wasn't around, so the father checked my mouth. That meant the front office also booked me with him to have the work done. 

Needless to say I was kind of dreading it. But, in a law of attraction based world, anything could happen. 

I really wanted to make the son my regular dentist from here on out. And...I thought to myself, "It would be nice if I found out Matt was going to work on my teeth."

When they sent me the confirmation email for the appointment, I wrote them, confirmed it...and then asked (without giving an explanation) if Matt could be my dentist going forward for check-ups and work. As an afterthought (because I did feel guilty) I added, "No offense to Kevin..." (Ouch.)

When I didn't get a response that day, I did indeed feel very guilty, and worried that I offended them. Or I figured, Matt probably has so many patients now that request him that they don't want to take another one away from the father. 

I actually woke up in the middle of the night and then found myself worrying about it. But I started to repeat over and over myself in my head a little phrase that has been serving me well: "Everything is always working out for me." And although it took a little awhile, I forgot about it and fell back to sleep. 

Towards the end of the next day, I got an unexpected response from the dentist's office, from the mom/wife: "Of course! And Matt just got a cancellation, so I am putting you with him!"

I was floored. Relieved. And happy. Well, about as happy as someone anticipating dental work could be.

I had my appointment today. For some reason I was nervous, but Matt and his assistant put me totally at ease, as they did before. I was lying in the dental chair for two hours (the molar that had the crack needed the new filling adjusted.) It may be a small manifestation to some people, but it's a successful one to be sure. And maybe this is a really corny way to end this post, but it made me smile.