Going to the dentist is not first on anyone’s list as a way to spend a few hours. Given that it’s not an enjoyable thing, the folks at Advanced Dentistry of Blakeney do their best to make it as painless and pleasant as possible. The offices in Blakeney are incredibly modern, offering flat screen televisions in each chair that the hygienist will set to whatever channel you want to watch. I go to see Dr. Betancourt, and his hygienist is very pleasant and helpful. Recently I had been too long between visits, and instead of just causing me incredible pain during my teeth cleaning, she instead did surface cleaning for the first visit and then offered to let me come in one week later — if I agreed to floss consistently for the next week — before she went into the gum area. According to her the regular flossing(I’m iffy at best, I must confess) «toughens» up the gums and after a week of doing it, her second foray into my mouth would be much less agonizing than it would have been had she done it all in one visit. I also like that they take a lot of time to talk to me about any questions I have. When I last visited, I had questions about some medications I was taking that had caused me mouth pain. While Dr. Betancourt had never heard of such a side effect, he gave me things to «Google» and promised me he’d look into it as well before my next visit. Also, I’ve learned a lot from my hygienist about my dental health and genetic predisposition to tartar, etc. She explained to me some interesting things, which helped me understand why my brother always had cavities, and yet I have very few — but I really have to floss and watch tartar buildup. Learning the mechanics behind this kind of stuff really helps me understand what I need to do to keep my teeth healthy — as she says, «everybody’s different». So, the long and short of it is this: I hate going to the dentist, but Advanced Dentistry of Blakeney really helps turn that around, as much as you possibly can, when I still have to sit in a dental chair and have someone poke and prod at my mouth.