Chapter 5: Veronica’s Teeth Troubles are Revealed

Dr. Preston leaned toward Veronica picking up an explorer pick and mirror from the tray. Inching herself even closer so Veronica could feel the swell of her breasts pressing into the top of her head and feel the latex apron crinkling so she was looming down at her"Ok Veronica are you Ready?" she asked gently, with a hint of playful eagerness in her voice.

Veronica took a small breath to steady her nerves "Yes I’mmm ready Dr. Preston" she said her voice shaking slightly. A faint smile could be seen behind Dr. Preston’s surgical mask, at Veronica addressing her by her preferred title. Her eyes also went warm and something seemed to flicker across them for a sec. Dr. Preston set her tools down and ran, her hands along Veronica cheeks. Ending at her chin where she gently nudged her mouth open with latex thump resting on her chin. As she did his Veronica inhaled the heavy latex smell of Dr. Preston’s green surgical gloves. Again causing her to feel some mixed feelings of intense arousal from the doctor’s sudden touch.

"Alright Veronica," she said picking up the dental tools again, and lightly tapping Veronica’s front teeth, "It’s not terrible but you currently have some serious issues and work that need to be done."

She used a finger to tap a button on the keyboard and Veronica’s X-rays switched to a marked up version. The new X-rays on display showed Veronica’s teeth with a dizzying number of coloured dots highlighting affected teeth in red, yellow & orange.

“First, you have four cavities that need attention. She explained, tapping each one gently with an explore pick concern entering in her voice. "2 are quite large, and the other 2 are smaller lower surface ones. There's one on your upper left first molar, #14, and another on your lower left first molar, #19. You also have a cavity on the lower right first molar, #30, and one on your upper right first molar, #3.

“Do any feel sensitive?” Dr. Preston asked as she spoke she tapped all four of Veronicas teeth. Being rewarded with Veronica flinching as the explorer pick made contact with two teeth. “Yes” Veronica said quietly. “I thought so” Dr. Preston said setting the tools down on the tray and typing on the keyboard 2 teeth with red dots got marked with a small U in black. Veronica assumed U stood for urgent “We will schedule those fillings more urgently I promise” As she said that she gently cupped Veronica’s face with both gloved hand. Again the feel of the surgical gloves on her face the with heavy smell of surgical latex caused her to feel very flushed, she hoped due to the large surgical light shining above that Dr. Preston would not see her blushing from her touch.

She then picked up the explorer pick and mirror again while pointing to three other teeth highlighted in an ominous orange colour. “Now we move now to your root canal issues” “These we will need to dig a little deeper, into literally.” Veronica gave a small frightened squeak at these words “root canals” even as Dr. Preston chuckled at her own tooth joke. “Sorry Veronica I don’t mean to scare you but all three teeth will likely require root canals. The first is your upper right central incisor, #8. There’s a significant infection” pointing to the X-ray “see the dark spots around the root” Veronica nodded “now compare it to the tooth beside it. You see how it’s lighter no dark spots”, she said pointing, “that means there is an infection we’ll need to do a root canal to save the tooth.”

“Unfortunately these other two teeth are less clear” she paused as she studied the X-ray in silence for a few moments before nodding her head and looking down at Veronica “these two we will need to do some exciting exploratory drilling first to fully assess the extent of the infection. This will help us figure out how deep the decay is and whether the root is still viable in the tooth."

Veronica gave another frightened squeak at these words “Ahhh an exploratory drilling! that sounds terrifying and unnecessary” she whispered.

Dr. Preston paused with the tools in Veronica mouth “Sadly it’s necessary Veronica it’s rather sever and the X-ray can only show so much apologies but see” at these words she used her explorer pick to dig into her upper left central tooth #9. “Ahhhhhhhhhhhh” Veronica bucked in the dental chair and began wailing in pain and would have shot right out of the chair if not for the restrains holding her their as Dr. Preston touched the tooth.

Dr. Preston quickly pulled the tools out of Veronica’s mouth and began stroking her face and making soothing sounds to calm her as she wailed in pain. Veronica for her part had never experienced that kind of pain before in her life it felt like someone was driving a red hot poker into her mouth in a searing moment of agony as she cried her eyes out.

“Ahhhh please Dr. Preston please” she wailed and whimpered “don’t touch it again pleaseeee” “Shhh Veronica it’s ok I’m not going to touch that tooth again like that I promise” Dr. Preston spent the next few minutes just soothingly stroking Veronica’s face and using a couple Kleenexes to dry the tears on her face.

“I’m very sorry I had to do that Veronica but I had to show you it’s very serious I’m surprised you haven’t felt it sooner” “The decay is rather severe at the root, my darling girl we will need to drill into it to confirm how much damage their is. At that point I will know if the root is salvageable or if we’ll need to perform an extraction on the tooth." Veronica still whimpering and sniffling nodded I…I..understand Dr. Preston” Still sniffling and whimper a little she then took a breath and said “Please we need stop now I can’t take anymore pain Dr. Preston” “Shhhhh your ok Veronica I know that was a lot, but we still need to finish your examination assessment so I will give you something for the pain alright”

Veronica who was not truly thinking that clearly practically leaped at the chance to feel nothing “Please Dr. Preston please do anything you want please just don’t let me feel any pain. Dr. Preston smiled behind the surgical mask and stroked Veronica’s tear stained face gently and whispered “well then how about some nice nitrous oxide gas to get you nice and relaxed then my darling?”

Veronica still reeling from her tooth that felt like it was still throbbing in her mouth nodded her head energetically “Yes please Dr. Preston anything I just don’t want it

to hurt anymore!”

Dr. Preston nodded and pulled her surgical mask down to her chin as she smiled

and gently kissed Veronica’s tear stain cheeks. “Ok sweet heart just hold on a minute while I get the nitrous oxide machine over here, then will get you nice and relaxed ok” she got up and Veronica could here the wheels moving as Dr. Preston moved the nitrous oxide machine beside the chair.

Dr. Preston then appeared above Veronica again on the stool. She turned on the nitrous oxide system with a twist of a lever, tapped on the control pad and oxygen began flowing through the hoses. Dr. Preston then reached for the purple nasal mask, connecting it to the nitrous oxide machine by a pair of thin hoses. She looped it forward, over Veronica’s head, and gently lowered the mask towards her face. Veronica felt the rubber edges of the mask settling over her nose. Dr. Preston then

gently adjusted the fit, ensuring it created a firm seal.

"How's that feel?" Dr. Preston asked. "Not too tight right?"

Veronica shook her head slightly, but the mask held itself in place. It felt snug but not at all uncomfortable.

“It’s not too..badd”, Veronica stammered suddenly feeling a little nervous. She then took a breath through her nose, but was surprised that she didn’t smell anything.

"Perfect Veronica breath through your

nose just like that. Keep Breathing slowly and gently through your nose," Dr. Preston said. As she reached over and turned on the nitrous oxide gas. Veronica started to smell a subtly soft scent she had never smelled anything like it before but as she breathed in the gas it made her want to smell more of it. She began breathing the first traces deeply through the nasal mask. “Thats it Veronica” Dr. Preston said encouragingly “breathe slowly and deeply through your nose” Dr. Preston continued adjusting the nitrous gas levels up while monitoring how Veronica was doing as she began to feel the gas.

"Just keep breathing my darling. I'm going to adjust a couple things and than we can finish talking about your teeth now that your feeling relaxed”

Dr. Preston watched her new patient succumbing to the gas happy it had been so easy to get her to try it. She was so pleased she decided to allow Veronica time to just enjoy the full effects before she lowered the gas levels and they continued. Veronica mean while was now enjoying a ride on pleasant fluffy happy cloud. It felt like she was riding the true feeling of happiness and

otherwise could not feel a thing.

After a while Dr. Preston’s surgical masked face appeared above Veronica with the surgical light, shining behind her. “How are we doing down there Veronica feeling relaxed and pain free now?

Veronica who remembered having been in terrible pain a few minutes ago now understood the picture from the anesthesia book of the girl going under now. She just

felt so happy and worry free as she breathed the gas wondering what falling asleep would feel like just like the picture. She imagined her eyes must look just like that young woman’s half closed and drunk with the effects of the gas. She closed her eyes loving the feeling of the gas. Suddenly a gloved hand gently touched her face. “Hmmm” she mumbled as she slowly opened her eyes and saw Dr. Prestons smiling face above her as she had pulled down her surgical mask.

“wakey-wakey Veronica its time to wake up!” “Hmm just a few more minutes please Dr Prestonnn” “haha sorry sweet heart it’s already been over 15 minutes we need to finish your examination ok” “Hmm okkk” Veronica said feeling a little more awake.

Dr. Preston turned the gas level lower then pulled up her surgical mask and gently taped Veronicas face so she would open her mouth “ok now we where talking about the teeth that need a root canal I’m afraid” she said pointing to the X-ray again "Your lower left second molar, #18. Has a cavity there it’s rather deep, and there could be significant damage to the root. We'll need to open it up and take a closer look. If it looks like the tooth can be saved, we’ll proceed with that assumption for now and note it for a root canal, followed by a crown.” Veronica still under the gases influence simply nodded "Got ittt” she murmured happily. That means, we are looking at three root canals, depending on what we find with the exploratory drilling on #8." “If we can save #9 and see what is going on with #18, they will need crowns after the root canals, especially since molars like #18 take a lot of pressure when you chew."

But I will do a deeper examination during th….”Dr. Preston paused mid sentence as she said his “hmmmm do I recommend doing that first…….?”. She murmured to herself as she paused in thought as she typed on the computer and the 3 teeth that were orange got highlight with a R for roots canal and 2 had little ? With Ex in black beside them that Veronica still under the gases effect did not understand.

“Ok Veronica last part than we will be done, on to your wisdom teeth” Veronica nodded still mildly drugged from the gas, and just enjoyed the fading happy cozy feeling. “Hmmm I’m guessing they have issues she said ideally”

“Yes all four of your wisdom teeth are impacted. That means they’re trapped beneath the gums and could cause you pain or infection later if we don’t remove them. We will need to extract all four—your upper right #1, upper left #16, lower left #17, and lower right #32. The procedure is fairly routine but more surgically invasive for impacted wisdom teeth, and I’d recommend complete sedation to keep you comfortable throughout." She then typed into the computer and all four wisdom teeth highlight in yellow added an Ex to them.

“The finally thing I noticed some gum recession in the lower part of your mouth, which could indicate early signs of gum disease.” “I’m going to schedule you for a deep cleaning, with a scaling and root planing, to remove plaque and tartar buildup below the gum line. This will help prevent further gum loss and bone deterioration." As she said this Dr. Preston tapped her masked chin thoughtfully with a green surgical gloved hand a silent conversation appeared to Veronica was going on in her head.

Then with a small shack of her head she said "Alright," she said finally, looking down at Veronica with a determined look in her green eyes. "Good news for me, it seems like lots of work to keep me busy and hone my skills. Some of the procedures may be a little harder for you, Veronica, but we'll get you through it comfortably” she said warmly.

Veronica now almost completely awake again, looked at the screen. The red, yellow & orange dots seemed to multiply before her eyes, each one a tiny beacon of neglected dental hygiene. She looked away just enjoying that last fading effects of the gas. As the chair began to raise a question did pop into Veronica’s heads

"Umm Dr. Preston," she began still

feeling rather light headed. "These procedures, the cavities, root canals and possible wisdom teeth..." she trailed off, unsure of how to phrase her concern. A dental hygienist nurse wouldn't be performing all of them?

As if reading her mind, Dr. Preston chuckled softly, a sound that sent a surprising warmth through her. "Veronica you can relax," she said, her voice calming. “ I highly skilled and am much more than a dental hygienist I some special skills and experience with cavities and filling and have studied root canals so your in safe hands," Playfully giving Veronica an eye wink at this.

"The wisdom tooth extractions and maybe the crowns are for the dental surgeon Doctor Samantha Steel. I'm here to assess the situation, I will be work on some of your issues for my experience, and will help get you ready for the bigger things as much as possible, and make sure you get the best possible care. "Veronica felt a wave of relief wash over her missing some of the ways Dr. Preston said some things. She then felt bad. She hadn't meant to question Dr. Preston competence or skill just her own limited understanding of who normally dental procedures. She watched Dr. Preston return her attention to the X-ray, her brow furrowed in concentration again. She caught only a couple small snippets of her thoughts as she muttered as the surgical mask muffled her voice – "deep cleaning will happen later," "I really don’t like the look of those roots on #9 upper left central”

Dr. Preston remained engrossed in the X-ray, on screen occasionally typing notes into a side section correlating to specific teeth that were highlighted. Concerningly Veronica saw new teeth with additional small red circles in addition to the existing ones already on the X-ray. This new development sent a flicker of apprehension through her but she decided to hold off voicing her concern. As she was feeling rather worn out from everything.

Clearing her throat loudly caught Dr. Preston's attention. She turned, a mischievous grin showing on her lips, as she pulled off her surgical mask revealing a warm smile.

"My apologies Veronica," she said, her voice genuine. "I didn't mean to keep you as my captive audience with my enthusiasm. But honestly, your teeth are quite the… project, and I can't wait to get started. They'll definitely going to give my skills a good workout, and of course, help you out of this serious mess you have."

Veronica offered a sheepish nod and smiled, a wave of guilt washing over her at the state they were in. Dr. Preston was right after over a year of neglect and let’s be honest she had several years of not having much more then a cleaning done by a bad dental hygienist from time to time was what landed her in this position. As she looked at the daunting number of coloured dots. Veronica took a breath, to steady her nerves. "Alright, Dr. Preston," she said with a small nervous smile. "What are the next steps?.”

End: Chapter 5