Meera was crying. She had been crying from the moment she had woken up, because her tooth was hurting. Her tooth was hurting so much that she had not been able to eat her breakfast or drink her milk that morning.

Mummy was very worried. She had called the dentist, who had asked her to bring Meera across at once. “Come, Meera, let’s go," said Mummy gently, helping Meera with her shoes. “The dentist will soon make you feel better.”

Mummy and Meera got into the taxi. Mummy cuddled Meera all the way. Soon the taxi stopped outside an old, yellow building. “Here we are,” said Mummy, quickly paying the driver, and helping Meera out of the taxi.

Meera sat with Mummy in the dentist’s waiting room. She held Mummy’s hand tightly.    She wasn’t crying any more even though her tooth was still hurting. But she was worried. She had never been to a dentist before, and didn’t know what he would do.

“Dr. Banerjee is a very good dentist, and very kind,” said Mummy. “There is nothing to be afraid of. Just do as he says, and you will soon feel better.”

Just then Dr. Banerjee popped his head in through the doors at the far end of the room. “Good morning!” he smiled. “Come on through, Meera. Bring your Mummy along!”

Meera and Mummy walked into the dentist’s room. Meera’s knees were feeling shaky, she was so nervous. But Dr. Banerjee gave her a jolly smile and helped her up into a big chair right in the centre of the room.  “Now hold tight, Meera,” he said. "You’re going for a ride!” Meera felt the chair slowly rise till she was sitting quite high up! Despite her pain and nervousness, Meera smiled. “That’s the way!” said Dr. Banerjee. “What a brave girl you are, Meera!”

Dr. Banerjee then asked Mummy and Meera exactly what was wrong. Mummy told him about Meera’s aching tooth, and Meera opened her mouth to show him which tooth it was. “Hmm!” said Dr. Banerjee looking serious. “Come, Meera, lie back, and let me have a look inside your mouth.”

Meera lay back in the big old comfortable dentist’s chair. Dr. Banerjee pushed the back of the chair down till it was almost a bed. He then put on a pair of white, latex gloves. “To keep your mouth free of germs, and to keep my hands clean,” he explained.

After adjusting the lights and moving a bright overhead lamp so that it shone straight into Meera’s mouth, Dr. Banerjee took up a little mirror fixed at the end of a bent metal stick. "Take a look at this, Meera,” he said. “This is a mirror, and I am going to use it to look at your teeth. It won’t hurt at all.” Meera looked at the little round circle on its stick. It looked harmless enough. 

“Now open your mouth as wide as you can and stay still,” said Dr. Banerjee. Meera did as he asked. Dr. Banerjee peered inside her mouth, moving the little mirror this way and that. “Alright,” he said. “That’s it. Rinse your mouth and sit up.” He gave Meera some pink liquid in a paper cup, and asked her to rinse her mouth with it in a little basin beside the chair.  Meera did so. The pink fluid tasted of nothing, and Meera’s mouth felt clean.

Dr. Banerjee then lifted Meera off the chair and walked across to Mummy.  “Well, she has a big cavity in a back tooth which needs filling,” he said. “Luckily, it is a baby tooth and Meera will soon lose it. But we have to make sure it does not affect the other teeth around it.”

Mummy looked worried. “When will you do the filling?” she asked.

“We must get rid of the pain first,” said Dr. Banerjee. “Only then will I touch her tooth.” He smiled at Meera, who was standing next to Mummy, looking as though she was going to cry again. “I will write out some medicine for Meera to take. Bring her back to me in a week once she is feeling better,” said Dr. Banerjee. Mummy nodded.

Dr. Banerjee quickly scribbled the name of a medicine on a piece of paper and handed it to Mummy. “This will make Meera feel better at once,” he said. He smiled at Meera. “We’ll have you better soon.”

Mummy bought the medicines for Meera on the way home. She gave Meera the first spoonful as soon as they reached home. In a few minutes Meera began to feel much better, and the pain in her tooth almost disappeared.

Meera was very good over the next few days. She took her medicine whenever Mummy asked her to without a fuss even though the medicine did not taste very good. Soon the tooth was feeling almost normal.

A week later, Mummy took Meera to see Dr. Banerjee again. “I don’t want to go,” said Meera,  “My tooth is better. Why do I have to see Dr. Banerjee again?”

“So that he can fill the cavity in your tooth,” said Mummy. “That way you won’t ever get that awful pain again.”

But Meera still did not want to go. She was still afraid of Dr. Banerjee. But Mummy did not listen to her protests and Meera soon found herself sitting in Dr. Banerjee’s chair again.

This time Dr. Banerjee covered her in a big white plastic towel from her chin to her knees. He also gave her a pair of dark goggles to wear over her eyes. “To make sure the bright lamp does not hurt your eyes,” he explained. Meera thought she looked quite smart in the goggles, even though she was still a teeny bit afraid.

Dr. Banerjee fitted his drill and turned it on. It made a soft, whirring sound. “Look, Meera,” he said. “It’s only a jet of water.”  Meera looked. It didn’t seem as though it could hurt her very much. “I’m going to clean your tooth with this,” said Dr. Banerjee. “So hold still and say ‘Aaaaaa’ as loudly as you can!”

Meera opened her mouth wide. The drill whirred away inside her mouth, making her head feel funny. It didn’t hurt, at least, not very much. Meera shut her eyes tight and thought of her best friend, Meena.

“Good,” she heard Dr. Banerjee’s voice saying. “Now hold still another minute.”

Meera kept her eyes shut tight, and her mouth wide open. She could hear Dr. Banerjee moving around. “Now for the cement,” he said, reaching into Meera’s mouth. Meera felt him doing something to her tooth. It didn’t hurt at all.

“Now bite down hard,” said Dr. Banerjee. Meera opened her eyes, and saw Dr. Banerjee smiling at her. “Bite down hard,” he said again. Meera clamped her teeth together as hard as she could. “Now open your mouth again, and let me have a look,” said Dr. Banerjee. Then, “All done,” he said with a smile. “Rinse your mouth.”

While Meera rinsed her mouth with the funny pink fluid, Dr. Banerjee explained to Mummy that Meera should not eat or drink anything for the next two hours. “It will give the filling time to set,” he explained. “And then give her something cold, maybe ice cream?” he said, smiling at Meera, who was looking quite cheerful now that it was all over. Dr. Banerjee smiled at Meera. “Good-bye Meera,” he said. “Brush your teeth twice a day, and no lollipops!”

Two hours later, Meera and Mummy were sitting together enjoying a big ice cream in the ice-cream parlour. “Mummy,” said Meera. “Do you think I’ll ever get a hole in my tooth again?”

“Not if you brush your teeth every morning when you wake up and again at night before you go to bed,” said Mummy.

Meera decided to do just that. She even wrote a big notice above her bed that said ‘BRUSH YOUR TEETH!’ to remind herself. Meera never ever wanted another hole in her teeth. She never ever wanted to visit the dentist again, even though the dentist was kind and jolly Dr. Banerjee.

The End