Diamond Hearts (Volume I & II)

11. The Dental Fears

Kuhoo :

"Kuhoo Chaturvedi, you are next," The receptionist announced and my heart took up a quicker pace.

"Okay, you can do this Kuhoo. No need to be afraid," I muttered to myself in a low voice. It wasn't my first time doing this but that didn't change the surge of anxiety rising at the thought of getting a dental cleaning done.

At such times, I hated the fact that flossing had never been a part of my life style. For God's sake, being a Neurosurgeon, I was supposed to be completely cool giving myself in the hands of another doctor and believe in her; just the way I wanted my patients to trust me.

I wasn't afraid, okay?

Deep cleaning and scaling wasn't a very painful procedure. It didn't even require anaesthesia. But the teeth sensitivity that would follow for the next few days absolutely sucked. Balling the fist, I breathed in and out to calm the nerves and entered the Dentist's cabin. Forwarding the case paper, I smiled at Dr. Bella. It was my third time visiting her, plus she knew about me being a doctor.

"Dr, Kuhoo, please take a seat," She signalled towards the makeshift dental chair. I followed her instruction. The typical sky blue chair with white outline was designed in such a way that as I placed my head on the headrest, I was half-sitting and half-lying. Doctor turned on the white light; it would help her to get a better look at my oral cavity.

"Open your mouth," She said.

Taking a deep breath, I did the same.

"Okay. This might take about an hour or less. Shall we start?" She asked after inspecting my teeth.

I gulped, "Yes."

I was a strong woman. I wouldn't fall weak in front of such a petty thing.

She switched on the ultrasonic scaler and proceeded to remove the calcified tartar around my teeth. During the first visit, I had been concerned about the sharp end of the scaler and the bleeding that may result but overtime I became used to it. Moreover, unlike other surgeries which I did where accidental bleeding could prove lethal, dental cleaning had negligible blood loss.

"Perfect, I would really suggest you to floss, properly. You might not need this procedure, if you do so," Doctor smiled at the end of the procedure.

Thanking her, I walked out of the room. It had started kicking in, the weird empty feeling in my mouth.

Other patients were waiting in this area of clinic. I saw many different patients there, some holding the cheek probably due to pain, adults sitting quietly, a girl around ten crying, her mother attempting to calm the kid using a picture book, an old grandma without two front teeth. But when my eyes fell over a particular person, surprised I walked in his direction.

"How come you are here?" I asked Mahil.

Raising the head, folding the newspaper, he stared at me. His expressions mirrored mine but before he could say something another man walked up to us and said, "Boss, they'll call you in sometime. I completed the necessary formalities. You should have told me about the cavity earlier. Has the pain decreased now? Suddenly, you are so quite on contrary to the ruckus you created throughout the way."

Mahil glared at the guy and pulled him along a few feet away. I had taken a half-day leave for the appointment, so I wasn't in hurry for a change which gave me the liberty to wait for my new neighbour.

The other guy nodded at whatever his boss told while holding the left cheek and sauntered out of the clinic with shoulders hung low. He turned back but Mahil gave him a pointed look that said 'leave.'