Dreading yappy dental hygienist

Dear Annie: My six-month dental checkup is fast approaching, and I’m dreading it because it’s so painful – not the cleaning, the yakking hygienist. The woman is quite nice and gentle. I would love to get the cleaning done, but she talks with her hands. The dental tools become an extension of her hands, so as she talks about her family, she’s not working on my mouth.

I really love my dentist and the staff. How do I get this lovely lady to simply clean my teeth and not talk so much? – Michigan

Dear Michigan: You can sweetly ask the hygienist to please focus more on your teeth because your time is limited. If that doesn’t work, you can register a complaint with the dentist. Or invest in a set of headphones. When you see the hygienist, stick them in your ears, close your eyes and say the music helps you relax. She’ll stop talking if she has no audience.

Dear Annie: I read the letter from “Thrown for a Loop,” whose husband was seen having lunch with another woman, as well as all the responses to that letter.

One day, my wife received a telephone call from a friend, informing her that I was at a restaurant with another woman. My wife replied, “Yes, he is having lunch with ‘Lindsey,’ ” a young woman I was mentoring.

Perhaps we appeared suspicious because we were laughing and having a good time. Does that portend an affair? I hope not, because during my 42-year professional career, I sometimes went to lunch with women colleagues. I never failed to telephone my wife in advance, telling her who I was lunching with.

I greatly appreciate my wife’s trust, which has enriched my life and allowed me to enrich the lives of others. Our mutual trust strengthened the bonds of our marriage. Next year we will celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. – Washington