More than a year ago, I posted a thread on a horrible experience I had had with an oral surgeon and the need to return to my dentist for more painful work on a molar the surgeon had broken while I was under and discovered later at home when the Novocain and sedatives wore off and I removed the gauze from my mouth.  The surgeon lied more than once after I called him about the broken molar - a belief that was supported by my dentist who didn't say anything against the surgeon but did share what was true about the broken molar with me. 

Fast forward to this past weekend.  Somehow, I broke a back molar. I don't know when.  I don't know how.  I discovered it because my cheek became increasingly sore and I discovered the broken back molar while exploring the source for such a painful area in my mouth.  I returned to my dentist yesterday for what I knew would be yet another painful experience although this time there was no surgery and stitches to work around or an anxious person to deal with who had been damaged and then lied to by both a since retired dentist and then the resultant oral surgeon who damaged my mouth further in an effort to repair the damage of the then retired dentist.  I didn't know last year who to trust anymore of these "experts" in their field.  I just knew that I had to have more work done at my personal and pocketbook expense.

This time, I knew I could trust the dentist I now have.  This time, though the experience of repair was still painful (I don't numb well with Novocain and the injection site is into the bone) and uncomfortable for reasons I don't want to go into.  I didn't get sick.  I wasn't so anxiety ridden I couldn't sit in the chair.  And this poor man who repaired the damage that both a dentist and an oral surgeon did to my mouth didn't have to deal with a distrustful, sore and sick patient. 

The lesson for me in this experience is that even though there are some people who lie and do damage that they won't admit to - there are other people who are secure in themselves, honest, patient and able to be trusted.  If I don't like my experience with another person and know that I have not contributed to their bad behavior, I am wasting time and energy trying to understand them and simply need to seek out people who are more to my liking and prove themselves to be trustworthy.  Otherwise, I keep myself stuck in relationships that are damaging to me.  That choice is mine and the consequences I suffer are mine, too.  I can choose to enter into a relationship.  I can choose to leave it, too.