My tryst with a dentist
Dentist: a prestidigitator who, putting metal into your mouth, pulls coin out of your pocket.
(Ambrose Bierce)
When one-quarter of my canine tooth landed in the pizza I was munching little did I realize it was beginning of a nightmare. After the initial shock I composed myself.
As a researcher I have been trained to think calmly and logically.....
So, it took me exactly 5 seconds to push the panic button.
Had I lost my baby tooth a wee bit late? My head was swimming with wild and illogical thoughts. I somehow forced myself to calm down. Regaining composure a list of dentists in the area was compiled thanks to my HP laptop and broadband connection. It was minutely analyzed. In the end the one closest to my home was chosen.
The dentist's office was strangely gloomy. An aquarium on one side was complemented by the figurine of black stallion on the other. Strangely morbid choice of embellishments for such a sombre place!!!!!!! On top of it a wall hanging with the saying
Some tortures are physical
And some are mental,
But the one that is both
Is dental.
~Ogden Nash
did not help matters
I was seated in an atrocious looking dentist's chair as the doctor looked inside the caverns of my open trap
"YOUR TOOTH IS UNDERMINED" barked the dentist
"UNDERMINED?" I blurted
"DID YOU NOT FEEL ANY PAIN?" he continued
"PAIN? WHAT PAIN? I retorted
An X-ray revealed a cavity. Only a root canal treatment could solve the problem.
"SHOULD WE START THE TREATMENT?" the dentist roared
"SHOULD WE? MAY BE ...... " I echoed
"The RCT BEGINS" declared the dentist with finality
Before I could realize what was happening, upon press of a button by the dentist, the backrest of abominable chair started moving and I ended up in a reclined position at an approximate angle of 45 degree's to the floor. A light was directed inside my jaw which previously as per the dentist's orders I had opened as wide as possible. A bit more and I would have looked like an alligator. The dentist performed some sort of procedure on my teeth which involved drilling right through my brain. After half and hour of the painful procedure I was told to return after 3 days for further treatment.
That I had been administered some sort of anesthesia I realized only afterwards. When I started to speak my left cheek felt as if it had a dumbbell suspended with it. Mumbling an incoherent thanks I hurriedly left.
The next two appointments at the dental artist's clinic went smoothly. Returning home from the third appointment I was feeling good. The Sony music system was blurting out my favourite Bollywood film songs. Things were beginning to look up. Life was good after all. The tooth ache was subsiding. Not much seemed wrong at that moment. I was wrong.
At one round about I slowed down my seven year old ALTO Lxi. It froze. All the effort of cranking up its engine failed. Using all the strength in my age old muscles I somehow was able to move the dead car to the side of the busy road.
I locked the car and trotted off into the setting sun to search for a car mechanic.
My misery had just begun .......
see a tale of two miseries for the second part of the tooth saga
The dentist's office was strangely gloomy. An aquarium on one side was complemented by the figurine of black stallion on the other. Strangely morbid choice of embellishments for such a sombre place!!!!!!! On top of it a wall hanging with the saying
Some tortures are physical
And some are mental,
But the one that is both
Is dental.
~Ogden Nash
did not help matters
"YOUR TOOTH IS UNDERMINED" barked the dentist
"UNDERMINED?" I blurted
"DID YOU NOT FEEL ANY PAIN?" he continued
"PAIN? WHAT PAIN? I retorted
An X-ray revealed a cavity. Only a root canal treatment could solve the problem.
"SHOULD WE START THE TREATMENT?" the dentist roared
"SHOULD WE? MAY BE ...... " I echoed
"The RCT BEGINS" declared the dentist with finality
Before I could realize what was happening, upon press of a button by the dentist, the backrest of abominable chair started moving and I ended up in a reclined position at an approximate angle of 45 degree's to the floor. A light was directed inside my jaw which previously as per the dentist's orders I had opened as wide as possible. A bit more and I would have looked like an alligator. The dentist performed some sort of procedure on my teeth which involved drilling right through my brain. After half and hour of the painful procedure I was told to return after 3 days for further treatment.
That I had been administered some sort of anesthesia I realized only afterwards. When I started to speak my left cheek felt as if it had a dumbbell suspended with it. Mumbling an incoherent thanks I hurriedly left.
The next two appointments at the dental artist's clinic went smoothly. Returning home from the third appointment I was feeling good. The Sony music system was blurting out my favourite Bollywood film songs. Things were beginning to look up. Life was good after all. The tooth ache was subsiding. Not much seemed wrong at that moment. I was wrong.
At one round about I slowed down my seven year old ALTO Lxi. It froze. All the effort of cranking up its engine failed. Using all the strength in my age old muscles I somehow was able to move the dead car to the side of the busy road.
I locked the car and trotted off into the setting sun to search for a car mechanic.
My misery had just begun .......
see a tale of two miseries for the second part of the tooth saga
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