the cleaning

maybe you wouldn't grind your teeth
so much
if we snap a pair of metallic
braces on you
and give you a plastic
mouth guard
with which to sleep with.
does your neck hurt?
your jaw. I hear a clicking
noise. a popping noise.
do you get a lot of headaches?
how often do you floss?
we have a power toothbrush
we want you to use,
ginny will show it to you
when you pay at the desk.
when I poke around your gums
with this razor sharp steel
ice pick you seem to bleed a lot.
go ahead and spit into this cup.
look at all that blood.
if you feel like you're going
to faint, just
let your head fall backwards
and let it hit the chair.
those gums look a little red,
inflamed. are you brushing
way back there. hold your tongue
way back. left. now right.
do a swirl like your tying a cherry
stem into a knot.
that laser blue light won't hurt you.
but don't look directly into
the light. could cause temporary
blindness.
okay. I need to stick this
cardboard jigsaw puzzle
into your mouth for some
x-rays. open wide, don't blink
and don't move.
i'll be behind the leaded
curtain in another room
with the door closed.
here put this ten pound lead
bag on your crotch.
we don't want to sterilize
you now, do we? just six
more x-rays. don't move.
don't move. how often do
you floss. you really should
floss more. did I tell you
that already? don't mean to
be a nag, but flossing
is important. how was your
Christmas?