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Fizz groaned as he was brushing his fangs like crazy. He always got a bit paranoid when it was time for dentist appointments. The fluoride made him gag and they always seemed so rough whenever they had to get plaque off his teeth with that scraper thing. Flossing was okay since their fangs made it easier to move the string around their teeth and gums.
Humans had it a lot harder with straight teeth.
“Fizz, are you okay?” Blitzo yawned, peeking in the bathroom as Fizz was staring in his mouth. “What are you doing?”
“I’m making sure I don’t have any cavities and brushing extra good tonight.” Fizz told him, pulling his mouth to try and look at his back teeth. “I don’t wanna get drilled.”
“Don’t ya just have to brush before you go so you don’t gross the dentist out?” Blitzo recalled.
Fizz gave his friend a worried look before pouring some mouthwash in a little cup. “I’m not risking anything.” He told him before sipping it and swishing the minty liquid around.
“Blech…that stuff is too minty…” Blitzo shuddered, pouting when he got a bonk from his dad.
“You’re gonna have to get used to it for mouthwash, pipsqueak. It’s better than that bubblegum flavored crap.” Cash told him.
Blitzo gagged as Fizz gave him a smug look. “Eew! I hate plain bubblegum!” He whined.
Cash shook his head before looking at Fizz. “Hey I’m next after you, alright? I got an appointment tomorrow too…” he told him, groaning a bit.
Fizz gave him a thumbs up before spitting out the mouthwash. “Do you not like the dentist either sir?”
“No way. They’re just as nagging as doctors.” Cash told him, moving up to the sink and pulling out his toothbrush. “It ain’t easy for me to floss my back fangs but they complain about the gunk they pull out.”
“I’m surprised you can’t get at them.” Blitzo commented, surprising his dad.
“What, with these? You’d have a hard time too,” he reasoned, holding up his claws.
“Not those. I’m surprised because you have a big mouth!” Blitzo joked, sputtering when Cash splashed some water from the sink at him.
“Oh shaddup ya runt!” Cash scolded. “Ya brushed your teeth, right? Then get your tail to bed.”
Blitzo rolled his eyes before wiping his face with a towel. “Night papa.” He waved.
“Night Blitzo.” He waved before looking at a nervous Fizz. “Hey you’re gonna be fine. Ya brush in the morning and before bed, right?”
“Yeah but…I have a big sweet tooth. What if I still get a cavity?” Fizz fretted.
“It ain’t the end of the world. They’ll give ya loopy gas, numb ya up, and you’ll be okay.” Cash told him.
“Okay sir…will you be okay tomorrow?” Fizz wondered.
“Pssh! I’ll be fine!” Cash assured him.
“But you had two whole slices of garlic bread with dinner tonight.” Fizz teased, giggling as Cash scooted him out of the bathroom.
“Oh har-di-har-har, smart guy.” Cash snarked. “Get to bed, will ya?”
“Night sir.” Fizz told him before scampering to his room.
Cash shook his head before glancing around a bit. Making sure he was alone, the ringmaster imp breathed in his hand. He took a quick sniff before recoiling. The pipsqueaks were right…he did have some dragon breath.
“Maaaybe I’ll do an extra swish of mouthwash…” he muttered before squeezing his toothpaste on his brush, getting to work.
(…)
Morning soon came and the kids were dragged out of the house for their appointment. This dentist office treated both kids and adults so there were some toys and movies in the lobby to keep them busy. The kids were just scheduled for a cleaning while Cash and Tilla had checkups. Tilla could handle dentist visits fine enough but Cash…never quite got over his childhood fear of the dentist.
Tilla looked over to her husband who was trying to read a magazine but was slightly shaking. She gently placed a hand on his arm, giving him a comforting smile. “You’ll be fine, dear. It’s just a checkup.” She tried to reassure him.
“I know…I just hate when they floss my fangs.” He sighed. “It ain’t like I don’t try but whenever I bitch that they’re going too hard, they tell me ‘well if you flossed more, it wouldn’t hurt!’ But I can’t reach back there! It ain’t my fault!”
“If you’re good, you can get a toy from the toy chest!” Barbie chimed in, pouting when she got bopped with his magazine.
“Like I’m gonna be that desperate. I’m a grown ass man, I don't need toys.” Cash snarked.
“I wanna get a sticky hand from the toy chest.” Blitzo smiled brightly.
“I want a frog you can throw on the window.” Barbie decided before her eyes widened. “Ooh! Maybe one of those clappy hands!”
“Nooo! Those things are annoying!” Cash groaned, looking up in confusion at the flat look his wife was giving him. “What?”
“Never say you find something annoying. That’s gonna make them want it more.” She warned before giving the kids a look. “Don’t pick anything too noisy, okay?”
“Yes mama…” they sighed.
“I don’t wanna go first. Please can you guys go?” Fizz begged the twins.
“I’ll go first, bud.” Blitzo promised. “The faster I get it done, the faster I can watch movies in the waiting room.”
Feeling sympathetic for her friend, Barbie patted his head. “Hey don’t worry. I don’t like that fluoride junk they put on our fangs.” She said, “The flavors can be gross.”
“That’s why I stick with a berry flavor.” Tilla chimed in before giving Fizz a reassuring smile. “If you want me to come in with you after I’m done, I can.”
“Thank you…” He sighed in relief, flopping down on the floor.
The dental assistant took Blitzo to the kid’s side of the dental office while Tilla was taken to the adult’s side. As long as at least one adult was in the waiting room with the other kids, it was fine. Barbie tried to keep Fizz distracted with the movie playing on TV. It was an animated movie about a mermaid wanting to be human. It was a nice enough movie even if the prince was as dull as a rock.
Barbie was soon called back, giving Fizz an encouraging smile before heading back. She walked past Blitzo as he headed back to the waiting room, giving him a high five as she headed into the office. Fizz turned to him, seeing he didn’t look distressed. He even got a green sticky hand.
“So…how’d it go?” Fizz asked.
“I gotta floss better but they said I was doing a good job brushing my teeth.” Blitzo told him, running his tongue over his fangs. “They feel smooth!”
Fizz laughed nervously as he tried to focus on the TV. Tilla soon returned and patted her husband on the shoulder. She just finished her cleaning and wanted to be there when Fizz had to go in.
“Hun? They’re ready for you.” Tilla whispered.
Cash looked up at his wife tiredly before letting out a groan. “Oh fine…guess I got no choice,” he complained before trudging to the back.
Fizz held Blitzo’s hand, still feeling nervous as he tried not to think of the scraping his fangs were in for just a few doors down. No wonder they had toys and movies in the waiting room; it was to keep kids from getting too scared. Not that it helped too much since he heard some screaming and crying.
“Can I call out sick?” Fizz begged.
“Don’t worry, bud. They’re not so bad. Just don’t think of that psycho dentist from that musical about the singing plant,” Blitzo told him.
Fizz gave him a flat look as he pinched his face. “I wasn’t but now I am, ya bonehead!” he growled, yanking his cheeks in frustration.
“Ow ow ow ow OW!” Blitzo whined.
“Mr. Fizzarolli?” the dental assistant called, making the boy flinch a bit. “We’re ready for you.”
Fizz let Blitzo’s face go, gulping a bit as Tilla offered her hand to him which he gratefully took. “I-I’m scared…” he whimpered.
“I know, sweetie,” Tilla nodded sympathetically before running a hand through his spines. “But I’ll be right here for you.”
“You got this buddy!” Blitzo cheered.
Barbie, who was finished with her fluoride treatment and running her tongue over her fangs, patted Fizz’s shoulder as he passed by her. “Don’t worry. It’s not so bad,” she promised, holding up a sticky hand. “They got some fun toys at the end.”
“I-I hope so…” Fizz muttered, trying to smile but it looked more like a grimace.
Barbie sat by her brother, still running her tongue over her teeth, and looked at him curiously. “So what flavor did you get for your toothpaste and flouride?” she wondered.
“I got strawberry flavor. No gross mint for me. How about you?” Blitzo asked.
“Cherry. No raspberry but that’s okay,” the taller twin shrugged before giving her brother a weird look. “They had some WEIRD flavors back there like caramel, Piña colada, and cookie dough.”
“EEEW!”
(...)
Tilla was sitting off to the side, reassuring Fizz in the big chair while he was trying not to panic. “I know you brush your fangs every night and morning, kiddo,” she reassured him. “It’s gonna be okay.”
Fizz glanced at her, worry on his face. “B-But I’m not the best at flossing. W-What if I get a cavity on the sides of my fangs?” he fretted.
“Just breathe, sweetheart,” Tilla advised before looking up as the dental assistant came in. “Hi. I hope it’s alright if I sit in with him during the cleaning?”
“Of course, miss. It’s just a cleaning today,” the friendly baphomet told her before turning to Fizz with a smile. “Hi Fizz. I’m Nurse Joleen and I’ll be cleaning your teeth today, okay?”
“O-Okay…” Fizz nodded meekly, letting the chair lay him back as she placed a bib over him.
“What flavor of toothpaste and fluoride would you like? We have mint, strawberry, grape, bubblegum, watermelon, and cherry,” she listed off.
“U-Uh…watermelon,” he decided.
“Good choice,” she smiled, picking up her tools. “Alright just open up and we’ll get started.”
Fizz hesitated for a moment but he slowly opened his mouth as wide as he could, gripping the arms of the chair as tightly as he could. It felt so weird having someone poking around his mouth with a pointy piece of metal and a mirror. How could they even tell something was wrong when he couldn’t looking at his own mouth in the mirror?
“How often do you floss?” Nurse Joleen asked.
“Uh…I try to at night…” Fizz sounded, feeling silly not being able to talk right.
“That’s good. Never forget to floss after brushing but if you have trouble, we can talk about recommendations,” she told him before looking at Tilla. “For kids, we have floss sticks with picks that can help get between their teeth. And for something that really helps get gunk out, I can recommend a water flosser.”
“I’ll check for one at the pharmacy next time we go,” Tilla nodded in understanding.
Once she was done scraping plaque off his fangs, the dental hygienist rinsed his mouth out and let him spit into the tube to get rid of the gunk. This part he didn’t mind because he felt like he was about to gag keeping his mouth open but letting his mouth get sprayed down and sucking on the little vacuum helped with that.
“So…how is it?” Fizz asked, running his tongue over his fangs.
“You have a little plaque build up near your gums but you’re doing good, kiddo,” the sheep demon smiled proudly. “All that’s left is the fluoride treatment. Do you want to do both the top and bottom mouthguards at the same time or one after the other?”
“Mmm…let’s just get it over with,” Fizz decided, eying the toy chest in the corner.
The nurse nodded as she began to prepare the gel. Tilla gave Fizz a proud smile which he happily returned. So far he was doing really well and if he kept up his good habits, he would avoid getting the drill. The kid practically flopped back in his chair while letting the foam sink into his teeth, much to the amusement of Tilla and the dental hygienist.
“So he’s doing well?” Tilla asked as the nurse washed her hands.
“For his age, yes he is,” she nodded. “Your daughter has a slight cavity but that can be easily filled. Your husband however…”
“OOWWW!”
“He might need to get a bigger filling,” she explained sheepishly.
“I…I’m sorry about him,” Tilla replied apologetically. “I’ll schedule that and Barbie’s appointments for next time.”
“We’ll take care of that at the front desk.”
Fizz, picking a blue sticky lizard, followed Tilla up front to join Blitzo and Barbie in the waiting room to watch some more TV. “Heard you got a cavity Barbie. Sorry about that,” he told her sympathetically.
“I guess I gotta ease up on the sour candy for a bit,” she shrugged, glancing up at Cash trudging out of his room. He was holding an ice pack against his mouth, a big pout on his face as he sat hard in the waiting room. “Rough time?”
“Friggin’ sadistic jerks…” Cash grumbled, pocketing a yo-yo he snatched from a nearby prize bin.
“Hey you said that toys were for kids!” Blitzo gasped.
“If I gotta get a damned cavity filled, I’m gettin’ something out of it!” Cash retorted before giving them a smug smile. “Besides, I’m damned good with yo-yos.”
[END]