"Ah shit!" he said , wincing while picking at his tooth. Another cavity, as far as he could guess. He looked down at the crumpled paper upon which he had quickly scrawled the address on. Then he looked up. The building was in a nice enough neighborhood, as far as he could tell. Whitewashed walls, small parking lot, and a single glass door on the front. “Doctor Rivers: Dental & Denture Professional” was plastered above the door. Hopefully, Boyd thought, this place would be different.

His dentist had told him time and time again to cut down on the sugar, and he had. For months he'd been put on a strict sugarless diet, to avoid anything that ended in 'cose'. He had tried everything. Brushing after every meal, snack or otherwise, guzzling glass after glass of water to wash down the taint of mildly sweet fruits. He carried a spare toothbrush in his back pocket at all time and would only be content in drinking his morning coffee with a compliment of mouthwash to cleanse the taste from his mouth.

He opened glass door, and a blast of cool air greeted him. He looked about the waiting room. The only other persons there was a 30-something male receptionist with a smooth chin and bald head and a woman sitting legs crossed, reading some beauty magazine. A small fish tank bubbled in the corner. Potted plants lined the window sills. A sign which read “Exam Rooms” was hung over a thick wooden door.

He walked up to the counter. The receptionist looked up at him. At this distance, Boyd could see the muscles rippling beneath his T-Shirt, and the scars that arced down the side of his face. When he spoke, the scent of greasy meat wafted into Boyd’s face, and crinkled his nose.

“What are you here for?’ he said in a gruff tone.

“Oh, I uh got the brochure,” Boyd said, fishing it out of his coat pocket. The receptionist yanked it away from him. “Hey, what the hell?”

“Where’d you get this?”

“In the mail. I’ve been looking for a new dentist. I’ve been getting a lot of these in the mail. I’m just trying out this one because you were the first to call back.”

“You’re not in our mailing records.”

“Look I don’t-” Boyd began before being cut off by a man entering through the examination room door. He was dressed in a thick white doctor’s coat with pens and a pair of glasses sticking out of the chest pocket.

“Oh calm down, John,” the man said turning to Boyd and smiling,” It’s of no issue of how we chose to advertise, so as long as we get the word out.” ‘John’ grunted, returning to his desk, and began filing papers. The dentist faced Boyd directly now. “Good evening Mr.Boyd.”

“Oh, uh, hello, Doctor.....Rivers is it?”

“Rivers. Dr. Rivers. Yes that’s me.” He gestured for Boyd to follow him. They walked through the heavy wooden door and down a hall before reaching a small examination room. “Dental and Dentures?”

Rivers nodded. “I see you’ve read our sign. In addition to dentistry, I also manufacture denture for those who require....more than mere dental care. My customers all hold them to the highest standard.” He chuckled. “Maybe I’ll make one from you.”

“What?”

“Oh meant for you,” Rivers said, correcting himself. “These long hour have me tending to jumble my words.” Rivers ushered Boyd into the central chair. It made a little whooshing noise as air rushed out from the cracks. The walls were an empty, blank color, with the overhanging lights giving the corner shadows an eerie feel. The stench of sterilization was strong in the air. Along one wall were row upon row of dentures, of varying size and shape, the teeth polished to an immaculate white.

Rivers circled the chair as to face Boyd directly. “So,” the dentist said, looking into a manilla folder, grinning slightly, “Mr. Boyd, as stated in the pamphlet, I assure you that my dental care is of the highest standard, without the astronomical costs and fees of any other dental institution.”

“And with the painless treatment, right? I mean I read the reviews and all but.....”

“And I assure they are all correct,” Rivers said with a widening grin. “So, what seems to be the problem?”

“Well, I did a bit of self diagnosis, and I believe that with both the toothache and the small indentation that I have the startings of a cavity in one of the back molars.” Doctor Rivers continued to grin. “You've got really nice teeth,” said Boyd.

“Why thank you. I pride myself in my personal work. Now,” he said, reaching for a cart covered in dental implements, “Let’s check on that pesky little cavity.” Boyd opened his mouth on instinct, and shuddered as the chair lowered. Rivers pulled up beside the exam chair. Why did he keep smiling? Oh thank God, he's putting the mask on. Boyd exhaled heavily.

“Now, let us see here,” Rivers said prodding about with his pick, each clink making Boyd flinch. Rivers mumbled to himself, every now and again uttering a hmmm, or ah, or, that’s interesting.

“Doc,” Boyd mumbled through his agape mouth,”It’s just the one-back-there!”

“Hmm, well this is more serious than I originally thought,” Rivers said.

Boyd broke out into a cold sweat. “What? What is it?”

“We can do the procedure today though. You seem to have many, many new cavities in formation. Something a generic dentist would overlook in favor of racking up prices. But I’ll do this in addition to the other, and keep it quick.”

“And painless right?”

“Of course, of course,” the doctor said. Boyd could swear he saw him smiling beneath the mask. Rivers entered the back room, and pulled out a large metal tank, with NO2 plastered along the side in big yellow font, now faded and peeled, warped by rust. He fiddled with the gas mask, screwing onto the end of the hose, an action accompanied by a tooth clenching screech.

Boyd began to get up.

“No no no,” Rivers implored, gently pushing Boyd back down,”This’ll be quick. Don’t worry. It won’t hurt a bit.” He placed the mask over Boyd face, and turned the valve. Boyd waited patiently for the feeling of wooziness to overcome him, as it always did. But instead, he began to feel tired. This was wrong. Many a time before had a dental professional drugged him with laughing gas, but this was different. As his head fell back into the chair, and his eyes closed, Boyd realized that it wasn’t a pain killer; it was an anesthetic.

************************************

Boyd awoke to the sound of screaming. His head was stricken with grogginess, his vision blurred, but even through the haze, he could hear the sickening screams. He glanced to his right. A long row of chairs stretched down the length of the room, all doused in a thick reddish substance. A few low hanging light shone dimly over them, creating long, wicked shadows. A man was strapped to one such chair,bound by leather straps. He jerked and yanked at the restraints, opening a toothless mouth and screaming a haunting wail to the ceiling. Boyd tried to move, but found himself bound by the same bands. A lump formed in his throat, and his heart began to race.

“Ah,” Rivers said, approaching from the right , a pair of pliers in his hand, “Look who’s awake!” He strolled casually over to Boyd, but stopped at the screaming man. “SHUT UP!” Rivers screamed in the man’s face. The mutilated figure continued to wail. “Fine then,” Rivers said,“ Have it your way.” He jammed the pliers in the man’s mouth, gripping his fleshy tongue. His wails quickly morphed to intelligible pleads and screeches. Rivers yanked hard, and a fleshy pink mass tore from the man’s mouth. The figure squealed, and then the screaming stopped.

“SEE!,” the dentist screamed to the writhing body of gore,” THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON’T LISTEN TO YOUR DENTIST!” His body was taut with rage, veins popping on every inch of his face, blood vessels turning his pale skin a violent red. Then he shook his head, wiping the spittle and blood from his face.“Now then,” he said, his composure regained,”Where were we? Ah, yes. That pesky cavity of yours. Don’t worry, we’ll fix that up right quick.”