visiting the dentist is one of the appointments i dreaded most when i was a teenager... because it meant agony... it would literally see me suffer the tightening of the ever tight wires of the bracers that dotted the enamel of my once-rather-unevenly-spaced set of teeth and i would not be able to eat much for weeks... the whole process of straightening my stubbornly jaggedy teeth was exceedingly long and painful... but at least i get to smile and display my teeth without being embarrassed about it today!
still, we have to visit the dentist every once in a while... either to sort out our protruding wisdom teeth or get a filling done, or the regular checkup... or rather the visit checkup whenever i am back!
hesitantly i will ring up my dentist whom i have been seeing since i was a wee toddler craving for her sweeties... (i had a terrible sweet tooth and 2 fillings to attest to that!) and she and her assistants will be delighted to see me for it will often be ages between each meeting... it's really quite sweet.
this time i made an effort to call earlier... and still, she is booked up full... after a while, the receptionist suggested i could be seen by my dentist's son. i said i wouldn't mind as long as it is alright with his mum...
----------
i was called by a familar face (an assistant who has known me from a young age) into the dental room in which the once familiar dental seat with its various protruding machine-extensions and an automated basin was eager to embrace me. i turned to seat myself down but through the door, which was left ajar, i saw my dentist chatting to someone and our eyes met. i greeted her with a cheery "hi!". she smiled and got really excited and wanted to tell someone (her son!) about how old i was when she first saw me... and she did. the other familiar assistant popped her head in and was trying to steal a bit of time to catch up... but soon the dentist's son reappeared at the doorway and was trying to get into the room... (some film director ought to have been at the scene.)
then an unfamiliar assistant chained a cotton towel around my neck and i am made to feel like a baby with a bib. rah (with cynicism). i thanked her and she was surprised... it's awfully weird to lie back and open your mouth to a complete stranger even if s/he is a dentist!
dr: so i heard you've just been back.
me: yup... kinda ... for a few days.
dr: and i guess you are here for a checkup? or is there anything bothering you? like a wisdom tooth?
me: yup... just a checkup... my wisdom teeth are behaving at the moment...
dr: okay.
me: heard you've just been back too, how are you finding it being back here?
dr: getting used to it slowly... just thought i'd come back to help them (ie his parents)
ahhhh... i opened my wee mouth as wide as i could, remembering how his mom used to comment on how small it is ... ahhh .... and he was working his way with his mirror-tool and another tool with a thin hook-like end to scrape off any possible unruly bit of stuff that doesn't belong where they're found...
dr: you keep your teeth in a very good condition...
me: (unable to voice out) oh really?! ... instead, i raised my left eyebrow as i sometimes do in amusement.... what an interesting proclamation!
dr: ... your upper wisdom teeth are out... the lower ones haven't appeared yet...
me: oh.. i think your mom mentioned that they will probably never ever appear (without alluring to a terrible wisdom tooth incident in Germany and then the reading of the xray by his mum when i brought it back with me)
dr: (chuckled) ... okay we'll give you a polish...
soon, suction tubes were introduced into my mouth cavity to keep it dry...
bzzzzzz bzzzzz...
the tools buzzed and he was telling me to close my mouth instead of holding it as wide open as i could (like his mum would have liked)....
bzzzzzz bzzzz...
i hear and feel the revving of the tip of the tool on my teeth and see tiny bits splatter powder thin into the air near my face.... (one great reason not to wear makeup i thought!)
dr (through his 'muzzle' and optical guide): i just need to remove a few stains... i think they are either tea or coffee stains...
me: uhhuh...(he's not going to want to know how much tea i drink everyday....i hope)
bzzzzzz bzzzzz...
the tools buzzed and again he was telling me not to open my mouth so wide...!
i try not to think of things that would make me giggle but with so many gadgets being placed and moving in your mouth... 2 pairs of eyes and 4 long tools prying into that wee little mouth of mine... it's quite hard to stop imagining how you would appear in the 3rd-person's perspective... i keep telling myself it would be terrible if i did giggle... and managed not to with much restrain... (oh agony it is hard to stop yourself from laughing!)
dr: okay take a rinse...
and me do likewise... blaagghh that pink paste of polish tasted blaaggh...
the assistant is silent and waits patiently.
dr: so what are you doing?
me: oh i'm doing a phd (slightly embarrassed about it)
dr: in?
me: neuroscience...
dr: ahh ... which university?
me: The University of Edinburgh
dr: ah Edinburgh... what's the weather there like?
me: oh.. erm.. pretty wild and crazy...rain, wind, hail... but when the sun's out it's really charming...
dr: haha i can imagine... when are you going back again?
me: at the end of December...
dr: how long more have you got before you finish?
me: well, about 2 years... i hope.
dr: i'm sure you will manage... let's put some flouride on your teeth... it's going to be green this time... but it won't be green... i mean your teeth won't look green.
me: haha that would be funny...
dr: haha
the assistant is silent and waits patiently.
i exercised my cheek muscles in trying to shape my mouth in such a way so he could reach my wisdom teeth at the very very end and all around... it's really quite different from how his mom would perform the flouride and polishing process.
dr: okay! just spit out the excess flouride into the sink if you want... and you'll have to leave the flouride on for about 30mins...
me: got it.
dr: so i guess i'll see you when you are back next time...
me: yup... i guess so (thinking it will probably be a long time away... as usual)
dr: all the best and take care!
me: thank you!
i left the clinic in happy spirits and ended up spending the rest of the afternoon reading about and learning to appreciate classical chinese poetry and drinking 2 pots of herbal tea (Earlgrey with Lavender; White and Jasmine tea) with a piece of green tea tiramisu at the TeaSpa not far away before meeting up with DsD and Van, the 2 blog celebrities, for dinner later in the evening!
posted by ~overacuppa~ on Friday, 10 December, 2004 at 18:32 hrsI love the extended scenes at the dentist! Good way to practice writing dialogue in short stories. =)
By the way, how was dinner? And where is Teaspa? Sounds familiar, and I'd love to visit when I get back next year.
Posted by: monoceros on Saturday, 11 December, 2004 at 13:31 hrshahha glad you enjoyed my silly whimsical account... i had a silly and fun time for a change... been convincing DsD that she'd need to change her dentist... giggles...
dinner was lovely! except you and D weren't around... we nearly sms-ed you!! but weren't sure if it'd cost you a bomb to receive it. we went to the Soup Restaurant (i think it was called!) near City-Hall?
Teaspa is at Change Alley at Raffles Place but i think they have other branches elsewhere... it's lovely... the ambience with jazz music and the smell of hung spiralling incense and a cuppa is just appealling... :C)
Posted by: hrm on Sunday, 12 December, 2004 at 05:13 hrs*Note: in case you were thinking of leaving a comment and the option isn't here anymore... it is because the comment section of each entry is closed after sometime to prevent malicious comments... if you are looking for the actual entry, type in the keyword(s) in the little box on the main page http://overacuppa.com where it says "fossicking pebbles & seashells" and press *search*... thank you for popping by and happy browsing!