Dentophobia ( Day 24 )

The challenge for Day 24

Today’s challenge is to ” Cut out the Fluff. Write 500 words without using the word “that” or “very.” Try to use absolutely no adverbs (hint: “absolutely” is an adverb).” So here it is, my piece on Dentophobia…Fear of the Dentist. I won’t promise fluff-free,  but I’ll do my best to deliver on the adverbs. The word “that” might be more difficult but I’ll give it my best shot. Here goes…

 

Dentophobia

Here I am on Day 24 of the challenge, can you believe it? Still writing, still posting, still battling on. Little princess warrior is turning into Queen Maeve, taking on Fear and whacking it out of the way. But, whoa…I see an obstacle on the path. And the mad part is, I put it there myself.

A few months ago, I made an appointment with the dental hygienist. Sounds innocuous, doesn’t it? But this was only a lead-in for the main event, the dreaded DENTIST. A  double whammy. You see, the hygienist was happy that I was brushing, flossing, rinsing with mouthwash. She just wasn’t convinced that my teeth were A-rated anymore. In fact, she had spotted a flaw, a lost filling. In a front tooth too, to make it worse.

” I’ll book you in for a double appointment next time. First me, then Dentist Carly. It’s cheaper if you do it all at once.”

This sounded logical, so I nodded in agreement. Anyway, as you might guess from her name, Dentist Carly is not a scary dentist. Young, modern, doesn’t believe in unnecessary pain. How could you have dentophobia with a dentist named Carly?

But today, everything seemed different. I’d just got the text asking me to confirm my appointment for tomorrow. My immediate reaction was to panic. How can I get out of this? Several worthy excuses floated around my mind. Top of the list was my extreme busyness at this exact moment. I could use my writing as an excuse, say I’m overwhelmed, promise obedience in the future. Oh, I know this visit is essential, but can I reschedule, please?

This type of thinking made me feel like a wimp. I know dentophobia is a thing, but to be honest, it’s not top of my Fears List. About halfway down, I guess. So I picked up the phone and called the Dental Surgery. My voice sounded as cheery as if I was telling someone my holiday plans. I can do fake with the best of them.

” Hey, just confirming my appointment for tomorrow, looking forward to getting it over with!”

“Okay, it’s the hygienist for 2 pm and straight into the dentist at 2 30 pm.”

I swallow. ” Perfect, see you then.”

Not a bother, as they say here in Laois. I might regret it tomorrow when the needle is burrowing into my jaw, but hey, who said bravery was easy?

PS I’ll let you know how the visit went, otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair.

 

 

 

Day 24 of my 31 Day 500 Words Challenge, hosted by Jeff Goins…Dentophobia.

Photo by Daniel Frank on Unsplash