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DR. SALAZAR KAGAN ORAL SURGERY and general dentistry ROOT CANALS ABSCESS DRAINAGE BONE GRAFTING "Because bad oral health is nothing to smile about." I tried to get Dad to change his mind, but he said he already did the paperwork to switch me over and there was no turning back. I thought about making a run for it, but Dad must've known what I was thinking, because he locked the car doors. Dr. Kagan's office was even scarier than I pictured it. He didn't have any coloring books or toys or the kinds of things they have in the Tender Hugs waiting room.

Dr. Kagan was waiting for me in his office, and all his sharp metal instruments and drills were right out in the open for me to see when I walked in. So I could tell this guy wasn't fooling around. After I sat down in the chair, Dr. Kagan started grilling me about my eating and drinking habits. He actually got MAD when I told him I drink soda, and he went in the side room and brought out a jar filled

with brown liquid that had a rotten tooth in it. He told me this is what happened to a real tooth when it was left in a jar of soda for twenty-four hours. I told Dr. Kagan I would make sure I never left my teeth in a jar of soda overnight. I'm pretty sure he thought I was being sarcastic, but I was just trying to show him I was paying attention. Then he cleaned my teeth. I started to panic, because if there's one person you don't want to be mad at you, it's the guy who's got metal tools poking around in your mouth.

At one point, Dr. Kagan started doing X-rays. He put a piece of plastic between my teeth and told me to bite down. Then he took an X-ray and got the next piece of plastic ready. After two or three X-rays, I started to get the hang of it, and so when Dr. Kagan did my molars, I bit down on the plastic before he even told me to. At least I THOUGHT it was the plastic. It turns out it was actually Dr. Kagan's finger.

Well, if he was mad before, it was NOTHING compared to this. Dr. Kagan told me to go out to the waiting room while he worked on my "diagnosis." I was pretty sure he was gonna come back and tell Dad I needed to get a root canal or something so he could get even with me. But Dr. Kagan actually did something even WORSE. He told Dad I needed to take "major corrective measures" for my overbite, and he gave Dad this pamphlet— Your Child Needs HEADGEAR Dr. Kagan said I would need to wear my headgear at all times, especially during the day when I'm at

school. So obviously he's trying to ruin my social life. Monday When I woke up this morning, I couldn't find my headgear where I left it, so I had to go to school without it. Not that I'm complaining or anything. In Health class Nurse Powell told us we were going to be starting a new unit about parenting. She said that being a mother or a father is a big responsibility and that in this unit we were gonna learn that taking care of a baby is no piece of cake. Then she took out a carton of eggs. She said each one of us was gonna have to take our egg home and return it to class the next day.