He had never liked going to the dentist.
Over the years he’d tried a number of them. Some better than others, but not one of them were what he’d call nice. He guessed that was just the nature of the profession. The last one he’d been to, told him he needed to have root canal treatment. That dentist had given him a detailed description of the procedure, saying this would involve him drilling a hole down through his tooth so he could remove infected pulp that is made up of connective tissue, nerves and blood supply. He said this extends into the root of the tooth, where the root canal can be cleaned and shaped so that it could be filled and sealed. He felt the description was a bit too detailed. He made up his mind on the spot that he wouldn’t be going back!
That was nearly a year ago and his toothache had got a lot worse. He knew he had to get it fixed. Talking to people, he was told that there was a fairly new dentist in town who was very good. Apparently, he had the reputation of being a no-frills person who didn’t mess around with small talk. They said he didn’t spend time yakking about it, just got on and did the job.
On the day of his appointment he was ushered straight into the chair. He looked on as the dentist prepared instruments on a tray. Apart from saying ‘good morning’ as he entered, he was silent. Finally, he wheeled his trolley next to him and looked down.
He spoke. “I’m just letting you know, this is going to hurt.”
As he started the drill, he said, “A lot!”
