Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

I never understood that phrase before, but I do now! Apparently, you can judge the age and health of a horse by looking at its teeth, and so when someone was given a horse free of charge, one didn't want to look at its teeth.

Now the reason I have brought this phrase to the forefront today: I had my first dental appointment in probably 10 years yesterday. I know, I know. I should never put off dental hygiene and should always have my yearly/bi-yearly cleaning since I have insurance and everything. I'd put it off so long, that I was terrified I was going to have to have root canals and bridges put in, and all other kinds of dental torture you can imagine. So, I walked into the office, filled out the paperwork, and began getting X-Rays. No biggie. Then the dentist walks in, looks at the X-Rays, looks at the chart, and says "Alright, let's have a look at the real thing."

Panic is the only word I can use to describe what went through my system. He starts digging around, poking, scraping; all while making comments to the dental hygienist sitting behind me. RANDOM THOUGHT: Isn't it weird that we will let a complete stranger poke around our mouth or other body parts because they have the word Doctor before their name, but it takes a long time before we'll hug someone we know? After what seemed like an hour of torture (and which was only about 5 minutes), he says "You have really good teeth and your gums are in great shape."

Hmm, I have really good teeth. RELIEF! The panic subsided, the heart rate went down, I could almost breath normally (I was still very, very congested at the time of my appointment), and then he tells me I have two small cavities on the very back teeth that he can fix when I come in for my cleaning. Oh, thank the Lord! In ten years, that's all I have: two small cavities and really good teeth. Too bad I'm not a horse; I'd be worth a fortune!