Butterflies

Favorite Patient

Within a week, I had moved my things into his house and began to get settled in. It took a few days for Paisley to get used to the new surroundings but she loved to be around Shawn. In fact, every morning we woke up to her meows, seeing her nuzzled up in between us. 

"Good morning beautiful" he said in his raspy morning voice. I rolled over to face his direction and was greeted with a smile. 

"Good morning" I replied. We both picked up our phones to check our notifications and reviewed our schedules for the day. 

"Looks like I'll be at your office later" he said, rubbing his eyes. I sat up, seeing his appointment on my agenda.

"It will be quick, I promise" I smiled. He sighed and stood up out of bed. As I did my make up in the bathroom, I could hear him rustling around in the closet. 

"Do I even have to go today?" he said.  I laughed for a second before I realized he was being serious. 

"Yes" I responded. "Unless you want your cavity to get worse. I mean, you can always do that but then I'd end up having to pull that tooth out. It's your choice, really." 

"Damn, you're sympathetic" he joked. We both laughed as he pulled me into his arms. 

"Trust me, it's not bad." I said.

"I know" he sighed. We stepped apart from each other and finished getting ready for the day. After saying goodbye, I set off to the clinic. He made his was to the studio where his morning meetings were always held. 

***

"Rachel, you take this next patient. I think it's time that you can start doing small procedures on your own." Dr. Finn said as we finished our lunch break. I smiled, knowing who was about to come in next. 

"Thanks Dr. Finn. I won't disappoint you." I smiled. I made my way to a procedure room and began to set it up, grabbing supplies from each of the cabinets. I then filled a syringe with lidocaine and set it to the side, covering it with a paper bib. Shawn's file was pulled up on the monitors and I reviewed my notes from his last visit. Within minutes, I was at the front of the office ready to bring him back. 

"Shawn?" I called. I could see him sitting across the room but he quickly got to his feet. "How's my favorite patient?" I smiled.

"He's pretty good" he chuckled back. I led him down the hallway past all of the exam rooms towards the procedure and surgical rooms. 

"This is it" I said, stopping at the doorway. He walked in first and took a seat in the dental chair. 

"It is just going to be me today. Dr. Finn thinks I'm ready to start doing procedures on my own." I explained as he got settled. We chatted for a few minutes while I finished setting up my tools. 

"Alrighty let's get started." I said, putting on my mask and gloves. I lowered the chair and aimed the light right above his mouth. "I'm just going to take a quick look at it first before starting anything. Open for me" I said. I tapped on each of his other teeth until I got to the one with a cavity. I looked the same as before, small but still in need of being fixed.

"Ow" he said as I lightly touched it. He closed his mouth and I rolled back, turning off the overhead light. 

"Sorry I tried not to make anything hurt. It seems to have grown a little since your last visit. Pretty much just what I expected. I'll have you fixed up in no time." I said, grabbing the numbing jelly. With that I used my gloved finger to retract his cheek while I rubbed the swab on either side of his tooth. I then placed some gauze in his cheek in order to keep the numbing jelly in place. 

"Now we wait" I said as he closed his mouth. He checked his messages while I prepared the local anesthesia. 

"I think it's working" he said causing me to turn my head. I rolled my chair over to his side so I could see his face. "It feels kind of tingly" he smiled. I nodded my head and took the gauze out of his mouth. 

"What's that stuff even for?" he asked. 

"It's so you don't feel the numbing shots as much. I think it also makes patients less nervous." I responded. "I'm gonna lower the chair real quick."

Once he was parallel to the floor, I grabbed the suction and water and rinsed out his mouth. His eyes were focused on me the entire time which made me smile. I then turned the light back on and grabbed the syringe full of lidocaine off of the tray. 

"Okay, Shawn, it's time to get you all numbed up" I said. "You can close your eyes if you want. Whatever makes you most comfortable. Just try not to move and I'll be as quick as I can." I said. He nodded, signaling he was ready. I scooted over so his head was right above my lap. I used my mirror to retract his cheek and brought the syringe over from behind him. As I steadied my hands, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.