Dentist
Dear Diary. Today I went to see the dentist about my gum pain. The dentist was called Anna. She was a slim woman in her forties. She had curly black hair and smiled a lot.
There was also a dental hygienist. Her name was Mireia. She was in her early thirties, slim with dark hair.
"So Paul, what's the problem?" said Anna.
"It's my molar. I keep getting pain."
"Does it hurt now?"
"Actually no."
The dentist and dental hygienist laughed at this.
"Okay, why don't you take a seat and I'll look in your mouth."
I sat in the dentist chair. Anna looked in my mouth.
"Well I don't see much wrong here. There's no inflammation. I've seen people whose cheeks have swollen, you know?"
"It's been hurting for two months now," I said.
"Well if you want, I can clean the gums around the molar. I'll just need to give you an injection of anesthetic."
"Is that necessary?" I said, refering to the anesthetic, not the procedure.
"Well if you don't want it done, then today we can just do the scale and polish you're booked in for. And if you change your mind, call me and we'll get it done."
She left the room, leaving me alone the dental hygienist. Wait. I had to think about what just happened. I wanted her to clean my gums. She must have thought I didn't want her to clean my gums. Fuck. I fucked up.
The dental hygienist got to work scaling and polishing my teeth. At least this was pleasant. I like having my teeth cleaned. I used to hate going to the dentist as a kid but now I love it. It's a rare situation where I don't need to talk. I think I have some form of autism. Making small talk to people is difficult for me. I never know what's appropriate to say. If I talk, I make people uncomfortable. If I don't talk, I make people uncomfortable. I can't win. That's why I like sitting down and having a dentist put tools in my mouth. That way I don't need to talk.
Afterwards my teeth felt cleaner but my jaw still hurt. The scale and polish hadn't done a goddamn thing.
Leave a comment