Enamel loss runs in my family, and the inevitable finally happened to me. I could no longer deny needing to have my teeth extracted.

I am a very squeamish person, and I spent a lot of nights shaking like a leaf and unable to sleep because of impending extractions the next day.

Near the end of my ordeal, I was laying in the chair, my mouth numbed and my thoughts full of dread. I commented, “I’m beginning to get used to this. I’m not as scared as I was when this started.” The doctor’s response? “Then could you loosen your grip on the chair? Your fingers are turning purple.”