#smallmemories

sweetest tooth--a very small, mostly real story

On the first dentist visit I can remember—the dentist found (though, I’d like to think it was more like “discovered” because what treasures cavities are!) about 7 cavities. It wasn't because my parents fed me dessert for dinner, or because I didn't brush. It was because I knew where grandma's candy stash was and because back then when students did well on quizzes or tests, candy was the reward and for that I was basically top of the class.

The result was that I was a chubby kid with a complex and bad molars.

Cavities were the talk of the playground and I had been thoroughly informed of what lie ahead for me-- numb face, uncontrollable drooling, a dumb crooked smile, and most importantly not being allowed to eat for at least four hours all because of the numbing medication. The only solve for this was to get rid of this terrible medication. So, I pleaded that we skip the junk, that I could totally handle the pain, and maybe even enjoyed the sound of the drilling. Everyone was a perfect mixture of shocked and impressed because wow she's so tough (and I was so tough). No one knew (though i’m sure many suspected) it was because I did not want to be deprived of food.  

So they did it...no numbing, no shots, lots of pain and soreness. When the procedure was over, with donuts in my irises, I asked my dentist, "when can I eat?" She said, "your mouth has been through a lot...give it four hours.”

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Today, as an almost 30-yr old, I'm getting a cavity filled (because I’m Peter Pan and will never grow up) and I cannot imagine a world where numbing meds don't exist. In fact, I asked for extra because I told my dentist that I could sort of still feel the pricking (except not really but I was being cautious).