my greatest fear ➳ the dentist

chapter 6: my parents pt 2

I keep hold of Brooke's hand as we walk on back to the biggest exam room. This exam room was designed for surgical procedures so it can fit more than one oral surgeon. My heart is racing so fast as we approach the exam room. I can't even think straight. We stop outside. Brooke turns to me and gives me a gentle smile before placing her hand on my cheek and gently stroking it with her thumb "You have nothing to worry about, okay? Your teeth are gorgeous." I return a small smile "Thank you.."

Ollie opens the door to the exam room and we are greeted by my dad ( Mike ) and mum ( Jenny ). They smile and give us individual hugs. "How are you all?" My mum says in a very calm tone. I return the smile and say "I'm okay, thank you. I missed you both a lot." My mum notice my braces "Your braces! Oh sweetheart, they look gorgeous." I smile and then my dad gives me a sympathetic smile "We missed you lots more pumpkin, we were thinking of you every day." My mum pulls me into another hug and places a gentle kiss on the top of my head "How about we get your check up over with first?" I gulp and look at Ollie. Ollie notices how nervous I am and quickly steps in "I don't mind going first." My dad smiles "Great, hop into the chair. Not like I have to tell you twice." He chuckles and grabs some gloves and a mask. Ollie chuckles back and then gets into the chair. Brooke and I sit in a couple chairs in the corner of the room.

I watch my mum and dad thoroughly check my brothers teeth. I shuffle in my chair, feeling extremely anxious. Brooke takes my hand and squeezes it, she whispers to me "I've got you." Soon enough Ollie is sat up and I hear my dad say "Good job bud, your teeth are immaculate." My mum turns to me and says "Come on Leila, your turn. Get your bottom in the chair." She pats it and I slowly stand up, my legs feeling like jelly. I slowly approach the chair and hesitantly sit down.

As soon as I do, I'm being laid back. I look up to see my dad snapping on some new gloves and I cringe at the noise. My mum also applies a new set of gloves and a mask. I gulp, dreading what's to come. My dad turns the overhead light on and brings it extremely close to my mouth, almost blinding me. "Let's see these pearly whites" I hear my dad say as he picks up his probe and taps my lips. "Open nice and Wide." I hesitate "Is this really necessary?" My mum sighs "Yes sweetheart, we want to make sure you've definitely been going to all of your appointments." I sigh and open my mouth "Wider" my dad strictly says. I open my mouth wider as my dad slips his tools in and begins scraping at my teeth. I hate this so much.

My mum watches him and closely inspects my mouth. "Hmm" my dad says "How many times a day do you brush?" I mumble because of his tools still in my mouth "Two." Before I know it my mum grabs another set of tools and slips then into my mouth. Now they are both scraping at my teeth. Great. "Do you floss?" My mum asks me and I give a little nod, completely unable to speak with the amount of tools in my mouth. "I think a deep cleaning is necessary." My dad says as him and my mum both take all of the tools out of my mouth. I quickly sit up "What? Why?" My dad grabs my shoulders and gently lays me back down "Because Leila, you have a lot of plaque at the back of your mouth and I don't believe that you are telling the truth about your oral hygiene. Especially now that you your braces on, you've got to be extra careful with what you are eating."

I look at Ollie for help. "I gave her a check up not too long ago and her teeth were in such good condition" Ollie says. My dad reply's "I'd like to give her a deep cleaning so I can have a really good feel around and make sure there isn't anything else hiding back there." I gulp and fiddle with my charm bracelet. "Can I schedule another time?" I look up at him. He shakes his head and starts to arrange some tools. This is not what I wanted. I'm terrified. I'm too scared to ask for anyone's hand because I don't want to seem like a baby.

I wait anxiously for them to set up. My dad places a bib on my chest "Lift your head up for me" I do as he says and he clips the chain around my neck. I rest my head back against the headrest and notice my dad pick up the scaler. I'm dreading this. The last time I had my teeth scaled, they felt like they were being ripped out. My dad brings the tool close to my mouth "Open nice and wide." I decide to co-operate and he gets to work at scraping in between my back teeth.

Every so often I squeal and squirm but my mum holds my head still so that I can't move away. "Leila, hold still. Come on, behave yourself." I hear my dad say as he scrapes at my teeth. I whine and wriggle. Ollie stands up and approaches us, taking my hand then looking at my parents. "I think that should be enough, Lei takes really good care of her teeth and she comes in for regular cleanings with Brooke." My dad takes the tools out of my mouth and sets them on the tray. "Fine, I'll take your word for it."

I sigh with relief and whisper a thank you to Ollie. He smiles and kisses my head before whispering back "Anytime princess." He knows how much I hate having appointments with my parents. Brooke lends me a hand to help me out of the chair and I accept it. My mum and dad take off their mask and gloves and put them in the bin. My mum then stands up from her stool "Your teeth are really pretty Lei and i'm not concerned about them what so ever, however I think you need to spend just a little more time brushing your back molars. okay sweetheart?" I give a little nod "Yeah...Ollie said that at my last appointment." My mum begins to clean up and wipe the chair down "I'm glad he did." She smiles. My dad walks over to us and pulls me into a hug "I'm sorry for being harsh on my baby girl, I just want to make sure your teeth are all pearly white." I smile and rest my head against his chest "I know.." He places a kiss on the top of my head.

"You are both free to go" My mum smiles. I walk out of the door with Brooke and I hear my mum shout "Ollie!" I don't think anything of it and keep walking alongside Brooke. "Tell Luke that he is doing a fantastic job with Leila's braces, her teeth have moved so much already!" Ollie chuckles at my mums comment. "I'm surprised seeing as she broke them not long after having them put on." My mum pinches the bridge of her nose and laughs a little "It could only be Leila." Ollie chuckles "Yep, the poor girl trips over her own feet sometimes. Anyways, I should catch up with them. Thank you for seeing us" He smiles and rushes to catch up with us.