Horror logo

Toothache

Tooth pain can be killer...

By Mr. DavisPublished 2 years ago 14 min read
4

Toothache

Ever since my mom passed away over 15 years ago, it’s just been me and my dad. Sure, he’d tried to date a few years after but he could never make it more than two or three dates before calling off any more contact with anyone. I think it was a combination of things; my mom was his soulmate through and through and having that person taken from you… that’s a wound that never really heals. On top of that, it was cancer that did her in. Anyone who’s experienced cancer themselves, or watched someone go through it knows the mental toll it takes on someone. It stays with you. I was 6 at the time so I couldn’t quite grasp the full emotions of it, but in some deep part of my brain, I think I understood. My dad and I were going to be spending a lot more time together.

We had a strange relationship. He wasn’t a bad father, he’d just never really had to fill that role before; with him working most of the time and mom staying home, and she handled the brunt of it. She did the cooking, cleaning, and disciplining. So when she was gone, all of that fell to my dad. H was able to get his schedule reworked rather quickly to his credit and after a few years, he was starting to get the hang of it. He’d learned to not leave the crust on my sandwiches, he was better about picking out clothes for me that fit and matched; he even started hosting sleepovers for my friends and me. He was killing it. The only thing he was relaxed on was hygiene; specifically dental hygiene.

You see, dad had dentures, and my mom, while she didn’t have perfect teeth, she took care of them and tried to instill in me the habit of brushing at least once a day. That habit stayed with me until I was around 16. I’d kept up with it until one day I was running late for school and opted to swish mouthwash instead of fully brushing my teeth. No one noticed at school, and that night after dinner when my dad said, “Don’t forget to brush before bed.” I told myself I would. But I was tired, and a little stressed about an upcoming test so I just swished again, and went to bed. This one-off thing quickly evolved into a bad habit.

Throughout the rest of high school, about two more years, a toothbrush never entered my mouth. My habit of swishing mouthwash had even gone the way of the Dodo and I found myself just chewing minty gum to stave off the unsightly smell of my morning breath. Once I moved out for college and moved into my apartment, I bought a new toothbrush, fully intending on using it, but it ended up being more of a decoration than anything. My campus was pretty small so I was worried I’d have to suck it up and finally start brushing again if I had any intention of meeting new friends but then, like some strange divine intervention, the pandemic hit, and my school switched to all online classes.

That was when my non-brushing turned into something much worse. My diet changed drastically as well. I was out of work from my campus job so money was incredibly tight. I switched out many of my dinners with ramen noodles and most of the time breakfast was just toast; with peanut butter, if I was lucky. Around this time I found myself feeling less than satisfied but it was a hole that what I was eating couldn’t feel. I wanted something sweet. It started with a simple peanut butter cup… then it evolved into a candy bar, then two candy bars and before I knew it I was dumping armfuls of candy on the counter of the corner store. At one point the guy at the front looked at me and said, “You know Halloween a’int for a few more months, right? That candy a’int going anywhere.” I just tossed him some cash and left.

This had been going on for about 3 months, and I was finding myself, again not being satisfied with the amount of sugar I was putting into my body. It was also around this time I picked up on the dull pain that would persist for a few hours after my candy binges. Still, though, I refused to brush my teeth. I can’t explain why; maybe it was a competition with me… Maybe I wanted to see how long I could go without doing it before something bad happened. Of course, I couldn’t prepare myself for how bad that thing would be. My trips to the corner store weren’t daily anymore; they’d turned into hourly visits. It was on one of these hourly visits, around 3 in the morning, that I saw something new on the shelves of the crowded aisles of the store. I was pretty sure I’d tried every sugar-filled drink and snack at that point but this one, with its neon-green and fuchsia packaging… there was no way I’d missed it.

I picked it up and gave it a once over. It was called Gooey Lumpies. Stupid name, I thought but the package had something that made me instantly take it to the counter. Experience a taste sensation like no other! This was followed by the art of a young kid's head exploding; brain matter and blood (though cartoony) shot out in every direction. I didn’t see a price listed on the shelf so I took it up to the cashier. He looked just as confused as I was; if not more. “Where did you get that?” I looked at him, puzzled.

“I got it off the aisle right here. But there wasn’t a price on it so I thought you could tell me.” He took it from my hand and studied the wrapping closely, looking for anything that would indicate a price. Eventually, he tossed it back to me saying, “There’s no barcode so I can’t scan it for you. Look, just take it with you. I’ll probably have to get in touch with the manufacturer and tell them we got a bad batch but since you spend more money here than anyone else, I’ll let you have it; on the house.” I laughed and excitedly took the candy bar from him before rushing out the door to my apartment.

Back home I ripped open the package and was greeted to a bar similar to the shape and size of a singular Twix. Breaking it in half I was greeted with a thin layer of nougat (though it was much darker than other times I’d seen it) and strange, marshmallow-like fluff filling the rest of the bar. I say strange because it wasn’t white like a marshmallow… it was a very pale yellow. This, paired with the darkened nougat, gave me pause, I’ll admit but still, after weighing my options I threw it down my gullet without much of a second thought. To describe the taste would be like telling you a fairy tale; you simply wouldn’t believe it.

In the simplest terms, the bar was equally smooth and rich as it was crunchy and flaky. The chocolate gave a Hershey’s Kiss kind of taste but it was complimented on the back end by a slight hint of citrus. If I would have dropped dead at that moment from a heart attack, I would have died a happy man. I wanted more. I needed more. Looking at the clock on my microwave I saw the corner store was closed. I didn’t think twice about what I did next; I went back up to the corner store snuck around back and began looking through the garbage bins. Amongst the bags filled with receipts, empty containers, and wet paper towels I found one smaller bag tucked away I a far corner. It was black and had been tied at the handles.

Fighting to not fall deeper in the garbage, I crawled over and grabbed it, and pulled it to my chest. Ripping it open my face lit up; the entire bag was filled with Gooey Lumpies. Without taking even a second to think about what I was about to do, I tore open the first candy bar and like a filthy animal shoved the entire thing in my mouth. It was pure ecstasy tasting that chocolate and nougat again. I’d had many bars with the same ingredients but this one was something different. There must have been twenty or thirty in that bag and I ate them all. One after the other I nearly forgot to chew I was eating so fast. Once the bag was finished… I passed out.

“Hey!” A loud voice reverberated off the walls of the dumpster and shook me awake, “What the hell are you doing? You eating shit in there or something?” Looking out the small opening I saw the cashier I’d seen the night before. He wore an angry face until I made eye contact with him. Then his face dropped to one of anxiousness and fear. His voice was much lower now when he said, “Look man… you just gotta get out of here. I won’t call the cops or anything; just leave.” I simply nodded and slowly made my way out of the dumpster nearly falling on my way out. Walking back home I felt sore, weak, and my head was pounding. I’d assumed the headache came from the massive quantity of sugar I’d consumed but when I saw myself in the bathroom mirror I found the real reason.

My bottom jaw was swollen on the left side. It looked like a water balloon that’d been filled to the point of bursting. It was a bright red, and warm and painful to the touch. Looking closer I was almost certain I could see it moving with my pulse. In an attempt to figure out what was going on I opened my mouth wide, the swollen part of my jaw protesting by sending shots of pain through my whole body, but I managed to hold it open long enough to see it. My back left molar had broken in half. Where there was once the tooth was now just an empty space allowing me to see the inner parts of a tooth no one would usually see. It was dark, nearly black, and the break didn’t look clean either. It had to have happened last night.

Given my diet lately, I can only assume I’d managed to develop a cavity and the hard nougat may have done the tooth in. Closing my mouth and wiping away the drool that had escaped I knew I had no choice but to go to the dentist; maybe the emergency room. I dug through my pockets for my phone but I came up empty. It was most likely in the bottom of that dumpster and halfway to the dump at this point. With no other option, I printed off directions to the nearest dentist and hopped in my car. Every single bump and pothole that I hit sent an entirely new wave of pain through my jaw.

By the time I was at the front desk of the dentist’s office, I was nearly in tears. The receptionist looked on in fear as I tried my best to explain my situation but just moving my mouth send more and more waves of pain. She held her hand up to me and said, “Just a moment, sir. We’ll get someone to help you.” Grabbing the phone on her desk she called for, “immediate help in the waiting room.” Within minutes a man stepped out from the back took one look at me and said, “Sir, please come with me.” I would have gone with anyone had they promised to stop the pain. The dentist took me to a room far in the back and sat me in a chair and got ready to help me in record time. His assistant pulled up only seconds later. “Sir,” he said, “we’re going to give you something to help with the pain. It’ll also help you calm down.” I saw the assistant pulling out an oxygen mask. “Are you allergic to anything? Been on any hard drugs lately?” I shook my head to both. “Okay.” He put the mask over me. “Just relax. You’re going to be okay.” That was the last thing I heard before I passed out for the second time in 24 hours.

When I woke up the only other person in the room was the dentist’s assistant. He looked from his clipboard and said, “Welcome back, sir. How are you feeling?” All I could do was nod my head. He smiled and gave a small laugh, “Yeah, that’s pretty common. Can you understand me okay?” I nodded again. “Okay. So, what we did was give you a temporary crown to fill that broken tooth. This will keep it from developing another infection while you fight off the current one. The swelling in your jaw was brought on by a large cist that developed on your outer gum on account of the broken tooth and damaged gum around it. That was drained and you were given stitches that will dissolve in a few days. About a week or two from now, depending on how long it takes the rest of the swelling to subside, we’ll get you back in here to give you a permanent filling.”

I nodded along as he talked, kicking myself for getting into this situation in the first place. All this over a fucking candy bar, I thought. They let me regain my focus for another hour before coming in to say I would be safe to drive home. The anesthetic would have worn off by then and, while I’d be in pain, I wouldn’t be at risk behind the wheel of a car. I thanked them, nearly went into debt over the bill because America and drove home falling into bed and sleeping for the next 9 hours.

That was last week. This morning I woke up to an all too familiar pain in my jaw. It was so jarring I threw myself to the floor trying to get out of bed and into the bathroom. Opening my mouth to the mirror I saw small white flakes dotting my tongue. I closed my mouth and pooled together saliva hoping to spit it out in the sink but as I did I felt a small pop. I froze. I think some part of me knew what it was. Spitting into the sink I saw the white flakes but a much larger one bounced around for a moment before settling on the edge of the drain. It was bright white and vaguely tooth-shaped.

Looking into my mouth again I confirmed my worst fear. The temporary filling had popped from my damaged tooth. I didn’t even know that was possible but there it was, sitting in my sink threatening to go down the drain. I rushed back to my bedroom to grab the new phone I’d had to finance because of the dentist’s costs with plans on calling him and reporting my problem. I made it halfway down the hall before I fell to the floor. A new shot of pain traveled through my gums, into my neck, and throughout my entire body. It was crippling; I screamed out but continued to slowly crawl toward my bedroom hoping to reach the nightstand before another shot of pain crippled me. The pain continued, though it dulled as the seconds passed and just as I made it to my feet I felt it… a small POP from the same tooth that had the filling.

The pain subsided and I thought for a moment I was simply being dramatic until… I felt something moving on my tongue. The feeling was so unnatural and strange, my body revolted and I vomited on the floor at my feet. The pain was returning now as well and I knew I needed to make the call but something told me I needed to look at the vomit; that there was something very wrong with what was happening. My first thought was that it was some kind of infection, may be brought on by the large cist the dentist had popped; perhaps they didn’t clean things as well as they thought they did. But looking through the bile on the floor, littered with bits of pepperoni, pizza crust, pudding, and almond milk I saw it… In the light orange/brown bile was a fat little worm. It writhed in the stomach acid, its little feet kicking begging to find traction and escape its slow death…

I bolted to the bathroom to vomit again, this time making it to the sink. More orange/brown liquid spewed from my mouth but luckily this time there was nothing out of the ordinary. I caught my breath, washed the vomit down the sink and it seemed at least the upchucking was over with. I still needed to make the call though. I’d worry about cleaning up later and there it was again; that familiar pain shooting through my gum down to my neck, making its way through every part of my body. In tears now I slowly opened my mouth to inspect the broken tooth. The dark spot looked much deeper now and even my gum had begun turning a dull grey. But that wasn’t the part that scared me… What scared me was the small face of another worm, slowly making its way out of my gums.

psychological
4

About the Creator

Mr. Davis

Horror-centric YouTuber who's looking to branch out a small bit. We'll try this out and see how it goes!

YouTube Page: https://goo.gl/eab66m

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.