I am going to the Dentist after an already long day at work. I step through the doorway and sign my name on the sheet. I sit down and start to read a magazine.
Dan, my name is called. Before I have a chance to stand up and set the magazine down, my name is called a second time. Dan, oh there you are the assistant states. I look around there is only me and one other guy in the waiting room. You wouldn’t think it would be hard to see me in the crowded waiting room.
Is this attention to detail a sign of things to come?
I am told that I am having a few cavities filled. I know this, as I made the appointment at my last cleaning, just a few weeks ago. I sit down in the chair and await the Dentist’s arrival. Hi Dan, I hear from behind me. We shake hands an again it is explained to me that we are doing three cavities. One in the upper left and two in the lower right.
Ok, now I know there are two injections coming. A small amount of topical analgesic is applied. A flavor that is slightly tangy with a hint of Lysol spray.
We wait for a few minutes and then the needle comes out. We should do the upper left first, says the Dentist. Ok, by me. I just want to get it over with. Open wide. A slight pinch not to bad I am thinking. Ready for the next one?
Open wide. A slight pinch, and then the pain starts. I push my head back into the chair. My body stiffens. I feel a knife blade slicing the right edge of my tongue. I arch my back and I stiffen even more. The blood rushes to my head, in the distant I hear; we are almost done. Just a little more, try to relax, he said. I hear the blood pounding, I feel the knifes edge. I have a shooting pain going down my throat and into my right arm. I am trying to breathe and relax. The needle starts to come out I can see his hand moving away from my mouth. The pain stops and my body went limp in the chair. I am sweating and the pounding is subsiding. The Dentist is explaining to me how close he is to a bundle of nerves, and how the needle can brush that bundle of nerves. That is where the pain comes from. What about the knife edge I think. My tongue is already numb. I can’t talk, so sit back and get ready for the rest of the afternoon activities.
The drilling starts and finishes. The cavities are filled and I am out the door headed home. My head hurts, my jaws hurt and half of my mouth is numb.
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