mentalflossr:

THERE’S A GOOD REASON THEY ASK QUESTIONS WHEN YOU CAN’T TALK.

Trying to converse with someone after stuffing their anesthetized mouth full of cotton seems counterintuitive—but there’s a good explanation for it. “It’s a distraction mechanism for the patient,” Taylor, a dentist in the Midwest, says. “Otherwise, they’re focusing on every little poke or prod and worried we’re finding something wrong.” Dentists also get pretty adept at learning to decipher your muffled speech: “I had someone the other day who mumbled something, and it’s like, ‘Oh, you need suction.’”