The Only One

T w o

"Are you numb, Sage?" He asks as I just have to nod my head yes, not trusting myself enough to open my mouth and not spew out drool.

"I'm going to do four injections because I don't want the one Dr. Samuels did to wear out during the procedure." He said as I continue to nod my head.

I close my eyes and open my mouth, but as soon as I do, I feel the suction get placed in the corner of my mouth.

Thank god, now I won't be drooling all over the place.

"Remember to not move and take a deep breath in."

I took a deep breath in and as soon as I exhaled, I felt the needle get plunged into my gums right where Uncle Collin just injected the other one.

As soon as I felt the first needle leave my mouth, I took out the suction and spoke up, even though I knew I was very numb.

"Are you going to put a mouth prop in?"

Dr. Perez gave me a confusing look as he set aside the used needle, and was about to grab the next one before he spoke up.

"Do you think you need one?"

"Well whenever my parents used to fill my cavities, they would put one in."

"Well I'm not your parents, but if I feel like your jaw is getting tired then I'll slip one in. But only if you agree to it."

I nodded my head as I opened my mouth and put the suction back in.

"These injections are going to be one after the other so don't move or speak, just let me get through them."

I closed my eyes and prepared myself for the worst.

I felt Dr. Perez's latex gloved fingers as they rested against my lips and chin to steady his hand for the needle.

The second needle stung a little but not as bad as the needle from Uncle Collin.

The third needle was closest to the root, causing the sting to last longer than the others.

And finally, the fourth needle I barely felt. Thank god.

"The worst part is over. All you need to do now is just sit back and relax. I do think I'm going to slip a mouth prop in, if that's okay with you, so you can properly relax while I use the drill." Dr. Perez explained.

I opened my eyes and poked around my cheek, seeing if any part of mouth wasn't numb.

I watched as Dr. Perez rolled over to a drawer and opened it, revealing all the blue mouth props.

"If you feel any pain from the drill you need to let me know. The worst that you would feel is uncomfortableness and some pressure, but if you feel any pain at all, let me know and I'll give you more local." Dr. Perez explained he took out the suction and readied the mouth prop.

"Any concerns?" He asked me as I shook my head and opened my mouth, hoping that drool didn't spill out.

But I knew as soon as Dr. Perez situated the mouth prop in my mouth and immediately stuck the suction back in my mouth that I'm sure there was drool somewhere.

I looked down at my bib, but instead Dr. Perez was holding a blue towel to my chin to stop the drool that I'm sure was seeping out of my mouth, even though I couldn't feel it.

Usually a hygienist or a nurse would help Dr. Perez, but nobody in the Samuels dentistry branch believed in nurses or hygienists. They do all the work themselves, with just a receptionist at the front desk that's it.

They usually have two dentists, a receptionist, and my parents and great uncle's offices share one orthodontist. And that's the only workers the whole time, but yet they still get a lot of patients because the Samuels are the best dentists in our whole state.