Dentistry:
Oral Therapy

Kofi Fosu Forson

“Rachel, Rachel, shoot me up with nova cane,” Rahlo Kitchencup screamed in my play Fifth of Floyd.

Would you compare nova cane to heroin? This would be properly suited for a pharmacist. The pleasure of the needle piercing the skin! If in a dental clinic, the student doctor handles the gravitative weight of the needle in his hand. It’s reminiscent of James Bond gripping a weapon. A heroin addict would tie a cloth around his arm. He would then prepare to pierce his skin with the needle.

The variance of these acts has to do with levels of potency. Nova cane doesn’t compare to heroine. But indeed, I personally get tremendous and arduous pleasure, sitting in the dentist chair, watching while he prepares the needle, waiting for him to inject me in the gum. The moments that follow are delirious, sensational…as if I were drunk.

Much is said about the fear of dentists. I love them. Dental clinics have provided me with Russian and Polish female dentists wearing white uniforms, physically astute with welcoming faces. I have been massaged, at least from the neck up.

Student dentists are different from doctors. Student doctors are approachable. Doctors are more prone to perform, examine and leave.

The one big fear people have of going to the dentist is experiencing root canal. Try oral surgery. The gums bleed incessantly. The jaws swell. We are all used to cavities. But with severe gum disease, the gums receed. This is known as periodontitis.

If there were ever a thing known as oral therapy, it’d be my experience at the dental clinic. Enough care is taken to keep my mouth fresh. Modern technology has allowed for the whitening and straightening of the teeth.

Unbeknownst to smokers, cigarettes are one major effect on the health of the teeth and gums. Apparently, the intake of smoke causes the gums to receed, therefore loosening the teeth.

One aspect of oral surgery is the final job of suturing. That’s when the dentist applies instrument with thread to the gums and proceeds to sew them. During this process, the patient would have undergone a series of treatment to the gums. It’s pure euphoria.

The greatest embarrassment is when the dentist offers you a toothbrush and toothpaste. As if to say, we stand to lose our teeth if we don’t use the right toothpaste, toothbrush, or floss. And so after every meal we brush. Before we go to sleep, we floss.

Do you smile when you look in the mirror?