Story of a Dental Appointment: I arrived at the dentist fifteen minutes early. I was extremely nervous. On the way up the stairs I lost the little foam cover to one of the ear-buds for my iPod and spent the next ten minutes wandering up and down the stairs (much to the annoyance of the man laying carpet upon them) seeking it out. I’d have done anything to distract myself.
First came the cleaning and the lecture about not brushing my teeth enough. Then came the rinsing out of my mouth and th little bloody clots that looked fairly frightening against the porcelain. Then the drilling began. After ten minutes of drilling, my jaw felt like it was melting – more from the pressure of being continually open than because of the drilling itself. And after another ten minutes – when I thought it would never end – I was close to collapse. My fingers were tightly clenched, my eyes watering.
At one point the nurse left the room, leaving the dentist to rather unskillfully wield both drill and suction device. Within moments my mouth was full of liquid, and then it was only a brief inadvertant tap near the back of my throat which made me reflexively shut my jaw – in the process forcing water out of my mouth, where it poured across my face and down my neck.
The final tooth to be drilled was one of my front teeth – without a mouth to contain the spray, tiny bits of tooth and water cascaded down upon my face like a cool rain. And then finally the drilling was over. The rest of the process was relatively painless – but I left with a euphoric grin on my face – like I’d just experienced an extreme sport that I didn’t want to be part of, didn’t enjoy, but left me strangely exhilarated.
I have to go back in two weeks – I’d only had the fillings out – the removal of the wisdom tooth is yet to come…
