It took me a good 15 minutes of staring at the ceiling tiles from the dentist chair before I realized I was staring at ceiling tiles. I had completely zoned out. When I zoned back in, I noticed the patterns of holes on the tiles and the flat metal grid.
Then I realized I was laying back in the chair with my eyes open. I wondered, wow, is that creepy to the hygienist, for someone to lay there just staring up the whole time? Do I usually lay here with my eyes open? I think I usually close them.
So I closed my eyes. That felt weird, too. I thought, what must it be like to be a hygienist, hovering above people’s mouths all day, dealing with whatever they’re doing with their eyes?
Curiosity flooded me. I had so many things I wondered. Was it satisfying to clean teeth? It must be. They come in all crusty and plaqued, and you get to make them all smooth and shiny. Like watching crumbs and pet hair disappear when you vacuum.
I desperately wanted to ask about the eye thing. What do people usually do? Did she have a preference? Is it weird for me to ask? I thought about this for a good ten minutes as I alternated between staring at the ceiling tiles, then thinking that was creepy and closing my eyes, but then knowing my eyes were jumping behind my lids because I was so restless in my wondering, so I opened them again.
When her hands came out of my mouth, I couldn’t stand it anymore. I asked, “Do most patients lie here with their eyes open or shut?”
She laughed and pointed to the loupes on her glasses. “It’s about 50/50, but luckily with these things on my glasses, I can’t see anymore what people are doing with their eyes — I just see the area of the mouth I’m working on. I always wanted to tell people, you are welcome to close your eyes! Think of this as a rest time. I felt funny about them staring at my forehead. In my old office I had a poster on the ceiling so patients had something to look at.”
She said sometimes people become so relaxed with their eyes closed that they actually fall asleep. “I’ve even had snorers! The only problem with falling asleep is that then their mouths tend to relax so much that they don’t stay open for me to get in there and clean.”
I felt much better after asking. Satisfied. I closed my eyes while she finished up, and they no longer jumped behind my lids.
Butterfly Mind 
7 responses to “Eyes open or closed?”
I’m an eyes-closed-while-at-the-dentist person, Andrea — being at the dentist is a stressor for me, so closed eyes help. Fun blog post!
I have always been an eyes close person, mostly because I find the bright light blinding.
I’m an eyes-open, staring-into-the-void person.
I used to be a Thai massage therapist, and most people would close their eyes and get super relaxed during their session. Or their eyes would pop open when I found a sore or particularly tight spot. At the end of the session, I would put them into deep relaxation mode, and it was so satisfying to hear the snores of abandon.
The only thing I found creepy is if a client would stare directly at me during the session.
😬
Exactly.
That’s an interesting question! I never thought must about it before, but I tend to close my eyes, but never relaxing, always conscious of what’s going on inside my mouth 😅
A nice pondering. I enjoyed reading this article. I keep my eyes shut, in a relaxed mood, at all points wherever they are either making my hair, cleaning or replacing teeth, or while undergoing some medical tests. It is the best thing to do if you want to be comfortable.