Anything That Ends in Ectomy Sucks

So there was this one time that I had a cavity.  Now, me having a cavity as a kid is nothing unique.  I really like my Skittles, Nerds, Blow-Pops, Runts, Reese's Pieces, and Twinkies.  And my teeth seem to be kind of wussies when it comes to standing up to plaque.  I don't get why they can't fight their own battles.  Nowadays, I brush, floss, use mouthwash, and even chew Orbit Gum.  If I get cavities today, it will be because my teeth are like the French.

They'll even surrender to plaque that's already been decimated by my mouthwash action.

Anyway, this cavity was unique, because it happened on a tooth that hadn't even completely grown in yet.  Part of the tooth was exposed, but somehow, the cavity came in on the part of the tooth was still covered by gums.  I have no idea how this happens.  Like I said, my teeth are wussies.

So my mom scheduled an appointment with the dentist.  He was a tall guy with thick, blond hair who was always smiling.  This dentist and I go back a little ways, so he would usually torture me by asking about my life while I had more instruments in my mouth than the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and then watch me try to respond.     

The procedure was going okay.  The dentist was trying to use a ring-thingy to push my gums out of the way so he could fill the cavity.  Yes, it was very uncomfortable, but what did I care?  I was on laughing gas.  The dentist could have done just about anything and I would have been cool with it. 

*"Sure!"

The dentist and his assistant fiddled around with trying to push my gums out of the way for about fifteen minutes before he decided on a change of strategy.

Now, I may have been nearly unconscious and daydreaming about talking blue cheese, but I was still aware enough to remember that 'ectomy' means 'remove' (yes, I knew what ectomy meant at a young age). Even though the dentist's perfect smile was still showing through his mask, I experienced a modest bump in stress at that moment.

 

Another shot of Novocaine?  I thought I was already numb enough to have someone give me a pain-free tongue piercing.  My stress level jumped a couple more notches.

The dentist and his assistant started a fiddling around in my mouth again when he said this:

The dentist's smile vanished.  I was pretty stressed and drugged up at this point.  I was thinking, "what's bleeding a lot?!  And why is it bleeding?!"

This was starting to turn into a top ten list -- "Things You Don't Want to Hear at the Dentist's".

Well, I did survive.  The dentist person let me take multiple little prizes, so that was exciting.  At about the time our minivan pulled into our garage, the first shot of Novocaine wore off, and I was in pain for quite a while after that.

This is essentially the aftermath of my appointment:

Jacob after dentist

and the inside of my mouth

Oh, and I did remember that appointment for a long, long time.