I’m in the chair. I haven’t been in this chair for at least five years. I’ve been smiling, laughing and joking with the nurses because I’m trying to hide a deep, piercing and paralyzing terror. They smile and laugh and joke with me. They can’t sense my fear.

But then, the dentist comes in and he shakes my hand. My palm is sweating. He picks up the tools to look inside my mouth. Not to drill, not to scrape, not to do anything close to that. Just so he can look.

And my hands grip tight on those bars. My skin goes white. My eyes widen. And the dentist stops right there.

"Okay," he says. "Let’s use some sedative."

____

I’m going to the dentist tomorrow. They’re using new technology to put me in a "waking sleep." The dentist tells me I won’t feel a thing. In fact, he tells me, "You probably won’t remember what happened." In fact, my insurance covers this special treatment if the dentist feels I qualify.

After watching my absolute terror, he signed the piece of paper that says I qualify.

I’ll be completely out tomorrow as the dentist performs two root canals, fills two cavities and cleans the plaque off my teeth. Five years worth of plaque.

I’ll be in the office in the morning and loopy for the rest of the day. See you when I make my dentist loopy post!