i almost got a hole drilled into my molar by accident
the dental assistant patted the seat, clipped the bib around me, and handed me a bright pair of sunglasses to replace my less stylish glasses. as she pressed buttons and crinkled papers, i looked around, first at the rubber bands keeping the tissue box propped up on the arm of the chair, then at the "no cellphones" sign i had not seen in the last six months—there's no way they just taped this up—no one still calls them cellphones, do they? then my eyes landed on the computer monitor displaying six photos of teeth. sharp ridges and even sharper incisors. the gums were quite red. in the corner of the screen was someone else's name.
the dentist walked into the room in a hurry (they always seem to be in a hurry).
"we have one more filling to do, the last one on your treatment plan, and the rest will be cleanings."
the gears turned. "isn't it only a cleaning today?"
"no..."
there was no way i was going to sacrifice a perfectly good tooth today.
"i noticed the name on the screen. is that supposed to be my name on there? i'm—"
a pause between the dentist and assistant. the dentist turned around and opened up the schedule on the computer.
"looks like you're right!"
and like that, the bib was off. i had never been so relieved to be back in the waiting area.
the lifelong difficulty of speaking up! i could've ended up like that person in that one tweet saying goodbye to someone only to end up walking in the same direction as them, so they hopped on a bus and boarded a plane to start a new life. i did think about bringing up the name-not-being-my-name issue to the assistant earlier but brushed it off. surely, they weren't relying on whatever was on the computer, they were going to change it later! the folders and papers and charts on the counter were the real sources! they know everything!
anyway. don't wait—speak up. :/