Dental cleaning from hell

Well, I had my quarterly dental cleaning last Thursday. I know I said I would write about the visit right after but I left the office a little angry. Nothing terrible happened to me but holy hell, I had to cool off before I wrote about anything related to that day. I had a very, VERY large glass of wine when I got home.
I went in for a routine cleaning and when I got there, I had a different hygienist than normal. Usually, it's not a big deal; I've had a different hygienist before when mine went on vacation. This time was different. I saw a girl who I've seen around the office but she was just a technician last time I was there. Apparently, this girl was working as a technician while going to school for dental hygiene. She must have graduated from her program and given a full time position as a staff hygienist while I was out recovering from my surgery.
Anyway, I went in and had the worst dental cleaning I've EVER had.
Now, I'm all for giving people a chance but this girl seriously needs more time apprenticing with another dental hygienist. I almost drowned not once, not twice but THREE times! I swear, my life flashed before my eyes. She was using the water pik thing to clean off the plaque from my teeth and didn't use the suction thing correctly. Thus, my mouth would fill with water and then I would start to choke. The third time it happened, I coughed and choked while the instruments were in my mouth. I had to wave my hands to have her stop and then raise my chair to a sitting position so I could cough out all the water that went into my poor lungs.
When I wasn't choking on dental water, I was waiting for the girl because she probably left the room about 6 times. I'm not sure if she was leaving to ask questions or something else but I sat around waiting for most of my exam. Dr. Ali even came in to check on me and was a little confused why I was still at the office. The last and final thing that totally blew my mind was that she had no idea how to floss my teeth! I had to show her how to floss teeth with braces! I couldn't believe it! I almost did one of those hysterical "I can't believe this is happening to me" laughs. And not in a good way.
An hour and a half later, I was finished. The reason it took so long is because after my last surgery I spent 3 weeks on a Chlorhexidine mouthwash. It's supposed to keep your mouth clean (in my case, the stitches after surgery) so you don't have any complications. It does horribly stain your teeth though. But a regular dental cleaning can take that all off. Before I scheduled the appointment, I told the office that I would be using the mouthwash after surgery. They thanked me for letting them know and told me that they would write a note in my chart. Chlorhexidine can be a pain to remove but it shouldn't take over an hour and a half. 45 minutes, maybe an hour tops.
After I was done, she asked me if I wanted to schedule my next cleaning and I almost dropped to the floor to praise Jesus because I had the BEST excuse! I told her that I needed to talk to the billing manager because I had to pay a balance that I owed and that I could just make an appointment with her (which was totally true by the way! I really did have to pay a bill). I can't tell you how happy I was to OWE money to someone!
When I saw the billing/office manager she asked me how my exam went. The exam was awful but I still felt kinda bad. I know all she needs is time and more experience to become a better hygienist. I just don't think I'm the right patient for her to practice on. With my braces and all my surgeries, I think I need stability and someone who knows what I'm going through. I told the billing manager that I can't spend an hour and half going through a dental exam with my jaw issues. She apologized and agreed with me that I should have the same hygienist every time. I made a future appointment and it's with my regular hygienist (THANK GOD). On a good note though, the girl did do a good job cleaning my teeth. They were sparkling and shining when I left. She just took for-freaking-ever to do it.
I really do love the office and office staff though. Everyone there is very sweet and caring. And I've been going here for almost 2 years and this is the first time I've had a bad visit.

On a side note, I never thought "almost drowned" would be a tag that I would EVER have to create in relation to this jaw journey. As per usual, I was obviously mistaken.