My tooth has been so problematic for such a long time that I’ve made the mistake that I so often counsel others against or coach them out of: I had made a whole lot of bad assumptions before I started.

I assumed that the whole thing would be Really Difficult, so when I called the surgery, asked for an appointment, and was given one less than three hours later, I had to begin rethinking. I walked through spring sunshine to the doctor’s. I was seem within five minutes of my appointment time. As I unfolded my tail of woe, I didn’t get the whole ‘buck up/ be brave/ get yourself to the dentist and stop making such a silly fuss’ reaction I was half-expecting: the doctor winced along with me, and said, how awful for you, I’m not very good with teeth, myself. (I found this very helpful in a doctor. I would have been concerned if I was talking to a dentist.)

Then she said: I don’t think I can refer you directly. Hmm, I thought, well here we go, another day of faffing about to find the right person. Wrong assumption again. There was a dentist in the building, doing a surgery: the doctor went and had a word with him, and he agreed to see me there and then.

Oh dear, I thought glumly as I waited (hardly any time) to be seen, this is going to be horrible, and I’m going to get all stressed and distressed. It wasn’t. I didn’t. The dentist was charming, efficient, and didn’t hurt me at all: he thought a general anaesthetic was the way to go and he said he and the doctor together would put together a referral to the people with the nitrous oxide.

So within half an hour of arriving at the surgery I had the promise of a referral and a prescription for antibiotics. I came home and slept off the accumulated pain, worry and sleeplessness of the weekend, and when I woke up, I had a cup of tea, some good news (of which more anon), and felt like doing a bit of work for the first time since Friday.

The antibiotics are, I think, starting to work. Given what I learned yesterday, I’m assuming that they will. I’m assuming that the referral will be swift, the appointment laced with understanding and a positive spirit, and the extraction easy, although I will know nothing about it.

(Good assumptions are OK.)