I went to the dentist yesterday for a cleaning and checkup
always a nervous experience
will they find something wrong with my teeth
could it be a long and uncomfortable procedure
it was even scarier during Covid
having to wait outside in the car
being summoned by phone and shuffling in masked up
all the staff in spacesuits and helmets back then
they looked like aliens
but yesterday was a pleasant surprise
Covid restrictions were lifted so no masking for me
the staff we no longer in spacesuits
my hygienist, Stacy came out to fetch me from the waiting area
it was nice to see her pretty face again
well most of it because she wore a surgical mask
she made me at ease and I was soon staring at the ceiling
she chatted away during the cleaning
I grunted back with my mouth full of dental tools and suction hoses
the chair was almost horizontal and my gaze fixed on the ceiling
something was not right
the drop ceiling had a panel open for lighting
2 rows of fluorescent tubes behind a grill
they had been installed at a slight angle, not parallel to the ceiling tiles
it started to annoy me intensely, I could not stop staring at it
what kind of contractor would put in crooked lighting
in an office full of high tech Xray machines and expensive monitors
Stacy finished my cleaning and the dentist came in to examine me
everything looks fine he said, do you have any issues
just one I replied, those lights above are not installed properly
Stacy started to laugh, all my male patients point that out
then it hit me, this was no contractor error
dental psychologists ordered those wonky lights as a distraction
to keep your mind off thoughts of discomfort during procedures
it certainly worked for me so well done Mr dental psychologist
but this now begs the question, why does it only bother the male patients
I wonder what women think of while staring at the ceiling