The Beautiful Dentist

Chapter 12

The day was almost over, Brendon and I had been through so many young patients it was unreal. To my surprise, many of them just got on with it, allowing Brendon to check and clean their teeth without a fuss. 

Yet, many of them did let out a few tears and need comforting by us both. I felt very sorry for them but in the end their teeth were checked and they were happy again. 

One child, however, refused entirely about having his teeth checked. He sat in the chair and was laid back without a fuss, but when it came to Brendon asking the young lad to open his mouth, the boy refused, pressing his lips tightly together and shaking his head 'no'. A lot of persuading took place but the boy wasn't having it. In the end we just moved on to the next patient. The thing that confused me was the fact that the boy didn't even seem scared, just extremely stubborn!

It was 4:42 pm. 

"Only one more patient left and then we're done for the day Lola." He smiled, checking his computer.

"Thank goodness for that" I sighed. "I'm getting very hungry."

Brendon laughed at me and rubbed his stomach.

"Could you collect Alfie Barker for me please Lola? He's only 6 years old, how sweet!" Brendon placed both his hands on his heart pulling a cute doggy face.

I giggled and left the room, ready to retrieve the the final patient.

Again, I turned the corner and noticed one final boy sitting there on his own in the corner, playing with a toy digger on his lap. The boy was tiny! He had floppy brown hair and tiny little freckles.

I approached the young boy, trying not to startle him.

"Hello, you must be Alfie" I smiled.

Alfie jumped and dropped his toy digger on the floor.

I gasped, picked it up, and placed it back in his hands. Alfie's big beady eyes stared into mine, he looked scared!

"Are you ready to have your teeth checked now?" I asked him, motioning towards the doorway.

Alfie continued to stare at me...

Suddenly, Alfie burst into tears and clung on to me like a monkey. I didn't know what to do! His eyes were running like a waterfall. I hugged him back and began gently rubbing his back, comforting the poor soul.

"Hey Alfie, it's okay. Shhh, come on."

My comforting wasn't working! I went to stand up, but Alfie came with me, his arms attached round my neck. I was holding him in my arms but couldn't bare to put him down. He was so light and fragile! His face was now buried into my shoulder, soaking it with tears.

"I'll take you through now Alfie, everything will be okay sweetie, alright.?"

He began to scream!

"No, please, I don't want to, no, please!" He yelled and clung on to me even tighter.

Never the less, I carried Alfie down the corridor and into Brendon's room, closing the door behind me.

Brendon immediately stood up and came to help me out with Alfie, who was clinging on to me even tighter than before.

"Hey, buddy. What's wrong?" Brendon gently asked, rubbing Alfie's back.

"I......I....." Alfie was crying so much he couldn't get his words out.

"Why don't we sit you in the chair Alfie and have a talk..."

"Nooooooo" Alfie screamed, clinging his legs around me now, dropping his toy he's brought with him.

Brendon and I both looked at each other, lost for words. We weren't going to give up!

"How about you take a seat on the waiting chair with Alfie" Brendon said to me, rubbing his chin thinking of ideas.

I followed his instructions and sat down with Alfie on my lap. Alfie finally lifted his head up and took a worried look around the room. 

Brendon came over to us with a box of tissues, beginning to wipe away the tears on Alfie's face. 

"So, Alfie. What's the matter, huh?" Brendon asked Alfie, in the sweetest tone I'd ever heard.

Alfie looked over in Brendon's direction, still sniffling a lot.

"My.... my big brother" he began, still struggling to let out his words. "My big brother said the d...dentist was a...a scary place where they drilled holes into people's t...t...t...teeth." He began to sob even harder so I gave him a warm hug.

"All we'll be using today is a mirror and maybe a toothbrush if you're lucky." Brendon joked but Alfie didn't seem too impressed. "Would you like to see the mirror?"

Alfie nodded his head, so Brendon went and grabbed a mirror.

"Here you see. Just a mirror. You can see yourself in it, look!"

Alfie glanced into the mirror and pulled a silly face. We all giggled.

"So, how about we take a look at your pearly whites now huh?" Brendon asked, showing his off to Alfie.

'Show off' I thought to myself.

"Okay... But I want her to come with me." Alfie pointed at me, taking me by surprise!

"How about you sit on her lap?" Brendon asked, winking at me.

"O...Okay" Alfie stuttered.

I took a seat on the dental chair and Brendon lifted Alfie on to my lap.

"Now I just need to put on my protective gloves and mask so no one catches any of my germs, is that okay with you?" Brendon asked motioning towards the gloves and mask.

Alfie nodded, placing one of his hands on top of the other.

Brendon put on his 'protective stuff' causing Alfie to laugh at him.

"Are you laughing at me?" Brendon said, joking around.

"You look funny!" Alfie giggled, pointing at Brendon.

"Here, you can use this bigger mirror so you can see what i'm doing in your mouth if you like." Brendon passed a big handheld mirror to Alfie, so he could view his own teeth. I could also see too, bonus! I was intrigued at how gentle Brendon was going to be in Alfie's mouth.

"Now just time to lay you back and we'll be ready to check your teeth!"

The chair was laid back, not as far as normal this time though. I assumed he didn't want Alfie to freak out!

"Okay Alfie, would you be able to open your mouth for me please. As wiiidddee as you can." Brendon emphasised the word 'wide' making the dentist seem less scary than it actually was.

For once, Brendon wasn't sitting down for the checkup, he was standing up just slightly bending over to reach Alfie's mouth.

I watched Alfie open his mouth in the mirror, I noticed Brendon found it hard navigating Alfie's mouth, it was tiny!

"Is there any chance you could open your mouth a tad wider, you're doing a great job!" Brendon's voice was so comforting, even for me!

Alfie tried opening his mouth wider, but struggled majorly. Brendon used one of his fingers on Alfie's bottom lip to steady his head and gently keep his mouth open. He used the other hand to hold the mirror, searching Alfie's mouth. 

"Wow Alfie, you've got a little wiggly tooth!" Brendon mentioned, causing Alfie to sit up.

"Will the tooth fairy come?" Alfie asked excitedly, almost biting Brendon's finger off!

"If you're a good boy" Brendon told him, gently laying him back on to my chest.

"Could you open your mouth again for me Alfie?" Brendon asked, causing Alfie to obey.

"You're doing such a great job, the tooth fairy will definitely visit you!" This caused Alfie to half smile, not being able to fully smile due to Brendon's fingers being in his mouth.

Once Brendon had finished checking Alfie's teeth he removed the mirror and pulled down his mask.

"Wow Alfie, you're teeth are so good. You must brush them a lot!"

Alfie had officially stopped crying now.

"Yes, my mummy helps me brush them a lot!" Alfie stated.

"How would you like me to give them a quick brush for you now?" Brendon smiled.

"I think my mummy does a very good job, but okay" Alfie said, putting up his thumb.

"Yes, I can tell your mummy does a good job, they're very clean! I'll just give them a little brush myself, if you don't mind" Brendon told him, grabbing a toothbrush and some toothpaste from his cupboard. "Is mint toothpaste okay for you?" Brendon asked.

"I think so" Alfie pondered.

Brendon squeezed a pea size amount of toothpaste onto the toothbrush. It wasn't a toothbrush like the one he used for my cleaning though, it was just a regular everyday toothbrush.

"Okay Alfie, I'll sit the chair forward for me to brush your teeth. Do you want to sit on the chair on your own, I'm worried you may be hurting Lola's legs!" he giggled, looking for my response. I subtly nodded my head.

"Okay, I would like to be a big boy anyway" Alfie smiled, jumping off my lap.

I stood up out of the chair and stretched my legs. Brendon helped Alfie back on the chair.

"Okay Alfie, just going to brush those pearly whites of yours now" Brendon told him, tapping Alfie's front tooth with his gloved finger. Brendon didn't feel the need to pull his mask back up, so left it resting below his chin. "Open up please!" Brendon smiled.

Alfie opened up his mouth and Brendon began to brush in tiny circles around the backs of Alfie's teeth, being sure not to miss any spots. His face was full of concentration.

"Okay Alfie, can you put your back teeth together for me? Like this..." Brendon placed his back teeth together, showing Alfie what to do. Alfie followed and Brendon continued to brush in tiny circles.

"Okay Alfie, we're all done now. Just spit in the sink and we'll rinse with water." Brendon stated, putting away the toothbrush. "Lola."

My name. It took me by surprise.

"Yes?" I responded.

"Could you put on some gloves and rinse out Alfie's mouth please?"

Wow. I hadn't done anything like this all day. I felt mixed emotions. Excited. Yet worried. The young boy was laying on the chair, just waiting. I think Brendon could tell I was worried.

"Don't worry Lola, I'll help you if you need it" he smiled, staring into my eyes.

I snapped on some gloves and picked up the water squirter and suction, taking a seat on the stool beside the dental chair. I'd seen Brendon follow out this procedure many times today so I partially knew what I was doing.

"Okay Alfie, just going to rinse you off now." I told him.

To my surprise he immediately opened his mouth. I squirted water all around his teeth, following with the suction. It was quite fun and very fast! 

"Good boy" I praised, removing the tools from his mouth.

Brendon sat up the chair and we both whacked off our gloves.

"Well Alfie..." Brendon began. "The dentist isn't that bad is it?" He laughed, patting Alfie's back.

"No it wasn't bad at all!" Alfie giggled. "Thank you very much" Alfie continued, hopping out of the seat.

"It's no problem" Brendon answered. "Now, do you have any questions before you leave?" He asked.

"Yes I do actually" Alfie stated. "Why are you teeth so shiny?" Alfie asked.

Brendon and we both laughed, looking at each other with great content.

"I clean my teeth well I guess, just like you" Brendon answered, leading Alfie out into the waiting room.

I followed them, and noticed Alfie's toy on the floor, so brought it with me.

We met Alfie's mum in the waiting room and he went running over.

"Mummy! Mummy!" he shouted, leaping into her arms.

"Hello honey!" She replied, hugging him tight. "How was the dentist?"

"Good!" Alfie replied.

Brendon and I walked over to join them.

"We had some tears at the beginning, but he let me check and brush his teeth like a very good boy!" Brendon smiled.

"And look mummy! I have a wobbly tooth!"

"That's wonderful darling! Thank you doctor!" She smiled, leading Alfie to the exit.

"Don't forget your toy Alfie!" I interrupted, handing it to him.

We exchanged goodbyes and went our separate ways.