In The Dentist's Chair Duex

Return to the Dentist’s Chair

Yesterday was my return visit to the dentist for my second course of treatments. The usual waiting nerves were ever present with everyone there. Then after about a ten minute wait I was called in by my torture handler for the day.

I had the usual pleasantries extended to me; I was asked if I had any trouble with the fillings I received at my last visit. Then she told me what I was going to have done at this session in the comfortable Iron Maiden. I was going to get two more fillings and have a rotten tooth removed from the rear of my mouth. First order of the day was the injections I think it was six in all, to numb up my chewing box. Then swill and rinse. First of all I had the two teeth filled, that went okay, nothing worth writing about.

Next came the extraction of my rotten wisdom tooth. She pulled out an array of equipment that would have made Vlad the Impailer green eyed with jealousy. There was a selection of items that looked like large scribes and large centre punches that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a machinist workshop. There was also a pair of pliers that could have been used to extract teeth from a t-rex. The scribing tools were used to jiggle the tooth about, then the pliers were used, but the poor lady couldn’t take that tooth out in one go. Next the drill went in my mouth and she started to machine away at it and I heard a little crack then I heard her say that the tooth was now in two pieces. After some prodding and jiggling, the first half of the tooth came out a dream. Then she tried to extract the second bit with no joy.

She put the chair back in to the upright position, I had another swill and rinse then I was descended back to the flat position. After a few more minutes effort she was beginning to concede defeat and asked her nurse to go and get a male colleague to assist her with her endeavour. The nurse left the room, then returned a few seconds later. Then the dentist continued with her battle against that tooth, loads more prodding and pulling and then at last the offending item shifted and was removed. The male dentist entered the room at this point, just as I was being elevated back into the upright position. The look of disappointment in this guys face was clearly noticeable. He took one look at the instruments on her table and quipped “did you use enough tools?” turned and left the room.

Then there was the advice given to me about the dos and don’ts of post extraction. Which I did of coarse follow. I did exact a small amount of revenge on my dentist when she rolled up the swab and put it over the socket where said tooth had resided. She told me to bite down on it, but with the sensation of having no feeling in my mouth I clamped her index finger between my front teeth, which made her wince.

But I can say that the myth about the dentist being a painful experience is well and truly busted. I was in that chair for almost an hour and the only sensation of feeling I had the whole time was when I had the injections, which was about as painful as a cat playfully biting your hands.

This is unfair representation of the extraction, the dentist wasn't nearly as attractive as the dentist featured here. Until next time adios.