Of Cartoons, Drills, and Drugs
What do Clifford the Big Red Dog, Tom and Jerry, and drills have in common? They were all part of my root canal this morning.
I initially intended to get the root canal without the television’s assistive distraction. However, about 3/4 through the initial dose of Novocaine, I got a sudden and strong tickle in my throat. I made a commotion to tell the dentist "get the needle out of my mouth!" and when she finally did, I started coughing hard.
By the time I stopped coughing, I was shaking pretty bad. I could barely hold the cup of water still. That’s never happened to me at a dental appointment.
Once I calmed down, the dentist turned on the TV, which was tuned to the Cartoon Netowrk. So, we watched an episode of Clifford, followed by a whole hour of Tom and Jerry. They showed two of my favorites, both involving classical music: "The Cat Above and the Mouse Below," in which Tom sings "Rigoletto"; and "Cat Concerto," in which Tom plays the Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2, with "help" from Jerry.
Net result: a root canal, a temporary filling, and a prescription for Vicodin. Could I get busted for PUI?
Sorry about your root canal. No, really.
I have an irrational fear of the dentist. In fact, I bit the dentist once. Not recently, of course. I was 7, I think.
Your dental experience puts me in mind of Clockwork Orange. A little bit, anyway. Will you now and forever erupt into a coughing fit at the sound of ‘Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2?’
Only when it’s a Tom and Jerry cartoon.
Nah, probably not. I’ve had several encounters with dentists, and this was the first one to have that effect on me. It was probably some oddball thing.