by Annie Vischer

Up until recently, one word that sent chills down my spine was ‘dentist’. I’m very good at denial. I’d always rather bottle something up and not think about it for the sake of being happy, it’s just how I roll. It’s how I rolled when it came to the dentist’s visit that I’d been putting off for a couple of years. Yes two years, don’t hate me! The months just kept whizzing by, and before I knew it, it had been a year since my last visit. That’s when the dread set in, the dread that I’d get told off for not arranging my appointment earlier, the dread that I’d be told that every one of my pearly whites were due to drop out any second, the dread that I’d be faced with a needle in the gums that very day.
So I bottled it and bottled it up. Until I got a call from Elleven Dental offering a check up appointment. I tripped over my words on the phone as I considered the circumstances. It was a mere walk away from work, I could go on my lunch break. It was as though it was meant to be! So I said yes, and thought about it later. Another one of my life methods!

And then the day dawned. I walked the beautiful walk, past Harley Street to Devonshire Place and ascended the steps. There I met Dr Peta Leigh, who showed me to pearly pink denstist’s chair. I’m a sucker for gorgeous surroundings, and the floor to ceiling windows, creamy plush sofas and said pearly pink dentist’s chair made me feel at ease straight away. As did Peta, who chatted prettily through my check up, reassuring and attentive, keeping my comfort and need to know what was happening a priority at all times.
The check up and clean passed by in a relaxed haze of whirring dental instruments and inspections. I was so comfortable on the reclined chair that I was almost sorry when my appointment came to an end.
It turned out that despite my appointment neglectfulness over the past two years, my teeth were looking in tip top condition save for a single cavity, needless to say I was ecstatic. My dentist’s chair burden had been lifted in the most beautiful way possible! And there’s no way I’ll be able to stay from that pink chair for another two years, in fact I shall be making my next appointment to see Dr Peta Leigh very soon. Like a good girl.
Elleven Dental, 11 Devonshire Place London W1G 6HT, 02074872711.