Bogleech.com's 2014 Horror Write-off:

"Odontophobia"

Submitted by Keetah Spacecat

Itch

On Monday morning, my tooth started itching.

I didn't even know that a tooth could even itch at all, but here I was with a tooth that itched and itched all day. Nothing could soothe it. I rubbed it with a finger, politely of course away from the public eye. I tried eating something crunchy. I tried even chewing gum. But the itching kept getting worse and worse until I had no choice but to call my Dentist. He advised some oral gel, and to drink plenty of fluids, and he would see me the very next day to examine my tooth. I could hardly wait, as the itching grew the point it felt like my tooth was vibrating in it's socket, which grew worse and worse as the day wore on.

Finally, late at night, I had enough. I grabbed the tooth and to my surprise, it pulled clean out of my socket. Surprised, the tooth, slick with saliva, slipped right out of my fingers to slam with great speed into my marble counter. It cracked much like an egg when it hit the hard surface, splinters of enamel rocketing out into the dark room.

I bent down to clean it up, only to feel my lungs freeze in my chest.

Out of the shattered tooth poured tiny, wriggling, white worms. They were so small I nearly missed them, but they were there in the hundreds, writhing on the counter.

And then, my whole jaw began to itch.

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Side Effects

I looked down at my dentist's note in my hands with great foreboding. [WIDSOM TEETH EXTRACTION RECCOMENDED] It said in bold letters. Included was an X-ray of my jaw, where the bright white blotches showed my wisdom teeth painfully pushing up against my molars. Yes, they were causing me a lot of pain, but still I couldn't get behind the idea of someone cutting my teeth out with a knife. Dentists orders though, so I made the necessary appointments and took time off of work to get my surgery.

The day arrived and I presented myself at the surgeons office, five minutes late of course. It took me a while to bring up the nerve to drive to the clinic. I would be staying overnight in one of the patient rooms before driving back home the next day, well, at least that's the plan.

The surgeon sat me down and explained the possible side effects. “We'll be working close to the nerves in your jaw and face,” he explained. “Sometimes people experience numbness or paralysis in parts of the face, which may or may not go away in time. It's very rare though, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. You will also be very disorientated when you wake up from the anesthetic and it will take some time to wear off.”

I didn't like the idea of that, but I signed the release anyway. In no time at all an IV drip was being inserted in my arm as the oral surgeon began to prepare for surgery. In my darkening vision I saw him begin to organize some very scary looking sharp tools on a tray, before the blackness took me.

It only seemed a brief minute before I heard my name being called. I blearily opened my eyes to see the surgeon snap his fingers with a smile. “Hey!” his voice swam in and out of focus. “You did great!”

I tried to say something through the sudden large amount of gauze in my mouth, only to see PAST the doctor. There was....something behind him. A black shadow that seemed to pull in all light, tall and spindly, like a spider. The only solid thing was the round little red eyes, as it turned to stare directly into my own. What else could I do but start screaming, as I noticed more and more of them in the room. They all turned to stare directly at me as I shouted as loud as I could through bloody gauze. The nurse and surgeon rushed to restrain me as I sluggishly tried to move. The beings merely watched the spectacle. Through the obstruction in my mouth I managed to tell the Surgeon what I was seeing, only for him to gently tell me that I obviously must be hallucinating, and that they will go away as I become more aware.

It's been 10 hours now, and they still haven't gone away. Even now I see the beings, looking in through the windows and following people in the hallways. More and more keep gathering to stare at me. I can't stand it! They won't leave me alone! I tried to punch one, only for my fist to pass through it and a sense of wrongness to go through my body.

They are standing around my bed, just staring.

They said there might be side effects, but I didn't expect this.

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Tooth Fairy

I was just a small kid when my older brother lost a tooth one day. I had been horrified. He was there, holding his tooth like nothing was the matter! In my young brain, I thought he had been seriously injured, or at least was maimed for life. But my mother just gently patted my head and told me that such a thing is quite natural, old teeth must fall out so new ones can grow in. A lost tooth can be put under your pillow, for the Tooth Fairy to come and whisk away.

“But what does she do with the teeth?” I had asked. Mother didn't know, but the promise of a shiny new quarter being left behind made me stop my questioning. So thus was my first time of hearing of the Tooth Fairy.

Time passed and my brother lost baby teeth left and right, but for some odd reason my small little baby teeth still stayed stuck in my jaws. A trip to the dentist office shed light on what was the matter.

“You got the tightest teeth I've ever seen.” the old dentist said to me. “They are so close together, your teeth are having a very hard time wiggling loose like they are suppose to. They'll loosen in time, don't you worry son.”

I was disappointed, and I wasn't pleased to hear of the dentist discussing in low tones with my mother on the prospect of braces. Mother drove us home after paying the bill where I did my homework and such before heading upstairs to bed.

I awoke in the middle of the night due to a sudden appearance of light in my room so bright, I could see it through my eyelids. I opened my eyes, squinting in the light, to see a small being materialize seemingly out of nowhere. I was frozen in place as I watched the form become clearer, to reveal a tiny little woman, about 5 inches high or so, with blonde hair and pale skin. She was dressed in a pink sparkly dress, and long clear dragonfly-like wings erupted from her back. She looked at me kindly and smiled wide, revealing an impossible number of tiny little teeth. Wreathed around her little shoulders was a necklace made of small human baby teeth.

The sight made my heart seize in my chest, and I tried to move away from this creature, only to find myself frozen in place. I could only move my eyes as I looked at the being in terror as she flew close to my face. She hummed a little tune as she carefully pried my frozen mouth open. To my horror, she leaned closer to my open mouth, in her fair hands she held a small pair of shiny dental pliers.

I silently screamed as the tooth fairy began to collect her due.

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Dream Interpretation

I had a dream last night, and the night before, and the night before. All of the same and all on one topic. Teeth. I constantly dream of my teeth rotting in my gums as they bleed. I can feel my teeth shatter in my skull as I sleep. Once, I sat in my dream scape and pulled my teeth out of my head, one by one, much like how you'd pick a berry from a bush. I stared at the pile of teeth in my hand as they broke apart and I tried desperately to put them back together, shoving them deep into my gums. As always I would wake up and run to the mirror to count the teeth in my skull, sobbing from the phantom pains I felt in the realm of sleep.

I went to several therapists that always said the same thing. “Oh, you must be afraid of being powerless. You are telling lies and they are manifesting in your dreams. You are struggling with lack of confidence.” ect ect..

Nothing seemed to help, the dreams kept continuing. It wasn't real they said. I tried so hard to believe them but they got worse and worse. I tried to stop sleeping. I obsessively began to brush my teeth. It got so bad I was given some medication, but that didn't help either.

To be honest, I wasn't all that surprised when I woke up one day to find the shattered remains of my left canine tooth on my pillow on morning. I just stared at the little white shards as they stood out against the dried dark red blood.

I just wonder when the rest will follow.