People say to get over your fears, but not me. I would rather wait. Everyone has a fear, whether they chose to admit it or not. I am not afraid of heights, snakes, or the dark, I am afraid of the dentist. I tend to push my appointments to the last date available, procrastinating as long as possible. When my date eventually came around, I remember waking up, filled with dread, on a Saturday morning in the fall. My mom and I made it into the car and arrived at the office ten minutes late because of my stalling. Once they called my name to go back and get prepped, I immediately felt my stomach drop.
I walked into the small room and saw all of the tools lying out on a tray. They made me more nervous. The doctor came in and introduced himself. He was tall with white hair, and about the same age as my father. He talked about the simple procedure. I remember wearing a Council Rock North Cheerleading sweatshirt. The doctor asked if I cheered for North. In my head, I thought, “No. I cheer for a different school.” I replied with a shy, quiet “yes.”
As he was asking me questions, I could feel myself falling asleep. Before I knew it I was out. I woke up in a backroom with my mom sitting next to me. I could feel myself crying, yet tears were not running down my face. My cheeks were swollen and I could feel gauze in my gums. In just thirty minutes, it was all over, I was fine. I had worried for weeks about what was going to take place, but it all turned out okay, aside from my huge cheeks and painful gums.
After about fifteen minutes of lying in my mom’s arms, she escorted me out to the car. She took me to Cheeseburger Cheeseburger, where she got me a chocolate peanut butter milkshake, my favorite. I slept all the way home. Once we got there my mom led me upstairs to my room where she left me just for a moment so that she could get me some water. When she returned, I was asleep, under the covers, back in bed. The next morning I woke up and my cheeks were even bigger than before. My friend Nicole stopped by and gave me a few coloring books and some frozen yogurt. At least now I had something to do other than watch TV and sleep. I was in no shape to return to school the next day with cheeks the size of oranges. I had my friends bring me my homework from the days that I missed. I finally went back to school on Friday, still with swollen cheeks. Everyone knew I had gotten my wisdom teeth pulled from my.
When it was all said and done, it was no big deal. There was no need to worry. Now, I know the terror of the dentist is actually no terror at all. All fears, no matter how big or small can be conquered. Just like the tall mountain, the water moccasin, and the little kid without a nightlight, the dentist is a fear I defeated. I overcame this fear and even though I did not enjoy doing it, I made it out unscathed. I now think of how it could be worse, I could be going back to that fall Saturday.