Small Town Denist Horror Story

I had a filling fall out and thus had to find a dentist that could take care of this problem as soon as possible. The next small town over had a dentist that took our insurance so that's where I went. The dentist's office was off the town square and it wasn't very busy when we got there. No other people waiting. After filling out some paper work the dental assistant, an old lady wearing lipstick much too bright red and gruff, old dentist, a husband and wife team who were about seventy years old, led me back to the room. The lights were off everywhere. This was a little weird, but maybe they were just being environmentally conscious, I told myself. Little did I know that must have been the sign post reading: The Twilight Zone. The little room had an ancient looking pinkish-brown dentist chair and the wood paneled walls were covered with posters and newspaper clippings hung with yellowed tape that were older than I was. The dentist took some x-rays, cleaned my teeth and that was it. He didn't fix my tooth. Instead he said he would fix it at a next appointment and by now I felt a little trapped; he already had my paperwork and x-rays, so I went home still having a hole in my tooth.

The next appointment he told me there was a cavity to fill as well and he could do all the work this same day. Back down the dark hall we went to the dark room where they finally flipped on the lights. They got me all set up, dentist's bib and all, and then they gave me some numbing shots. As the dentist began to get his drill ready he realized that it wasn't working. Oh, great! Here I was at some dentist's that didn't seem like they expected patients - could they at least turn the lights on like they were expecting me? - and now the ancient looking equipment was jammed. He took quite a long while to finally get the drill in working order and now I was quite suspicious of it's ability to work properly. He got to work drilling and filling. The first tooth went fine and I began to relax a little. And that, my dear reader, is when the Novocain wore off! Yes, he had spent so much time fixing his drill that the numbness was already wearing off!! The pain was like nothing else I've ever felt and not even bearing a child could compare. In the midst of the drilling there was no opportunity to talk and tell the dentist that you're feeling pain. I could have opened my throat and screamed all I could, but my children were with my husband in the waiting room. I didn't want them to hear that and worry about Mommy. So I bore it, sweating palms, white knuckles and tearing eyes, and simply prayed my heart out. Finally the dentist stopped to rinse my mouth with water and I jumped on the opportunity. I told him, "That really hurts!" And if this was not the Twilight Zone things might have worked out in my favor. He told me, "Don't worry, I'm almost done." He went back to his work as if I had not said a thing. Now I felt a desperate panic but there was nothing more I could do since he was already in my mouth again. So again I prayed through the pain and fear. And finally it was over. I stiffly walked out to the waiting room and saw my kids and Ben and I tried so very hard to keep it together - it really must have been the adrenaline or either I was still in a state of shock. They wanted me to make another cleaning appointment and at that point I was willing to do anything to just get out of there. My heart was still racing. I made the appointment with the firm intent to blow it off later.

We all went out to the car and got in. I was finally out of there and I felt so much relief compared to the pain still ringing in my tooth that I fell apart and sobbed. Ben and the kids were worried and perhaps a little confused. I didn't want to cry; I didn't want my kids thinking that dentist's offices were bad places where they hurt you and made you cry. When I could finally choke out all the things that had transpired, Ben jumped out of the car and went back in the dentist's office to tell them we were never coming back. He was really a knight in shining armor in my eyes at that moment.

This is why we drove about an hour into the city to find a dentist for Evelyn. The dentist was wonderful and nice and Evelyn had a positive experience. And you know, they actually had the lights on.