Give me novocaine

My dentist is kind of a jokester: humming the “Jaws” theme song as he enters the room and telling stories with the hygienists. But he’s not joking when he says he’s going to fill my cavities without using novocaine. Surprisingly, it doesn’t hurt…much. Maybe because most of my cavities are shallow and small, stuck in little pits that caused my childhood dental experience to be pretty traumatic. But I’ve always been a fan of major pain medication. Gas me up, numb my mouth so much that I can’t properly drink from a straw for hours afterward. I don’t want to feel a thing. So last spring, immediately after Dr. Kahn announced that he’d fill my little cavity sans medication, I think my anxiety was more painful than the actual drilling. The same was true today when he filled two holes. There were moments when I thought it was going to hurt, when that cold, sharp pulse started its sprint to my brain. But then it retreated. And now that I’m sitting safely far away from the dental office, I’m telling myself how it really wasn’t that bad.