JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Yesterday, I had my regular six month cleaning at the dentist's. It was actually longer than six months - the last time I was in was at the end of June, when I had to get the okay from my dentist to proceed with my end-of-July knee surgery.
As usual, they had another new piece of technology. The cleaning instrument - you know, the metal with the hook that the nice dental hygienist uses to dig away at your built up tartar while you regret your life choices - has changed! Now it's a super-fast, micro-vibrating "water cleaner" that barely seems to touch the surface of your teeth. It was pretty sweet.
It got me thinking about the enormous changes in dentistry and tooth care in my lifetime. The first dentist I remember, when I was about 13-14, was Dr. Del Debbio, who was also the first civilian medical professional I ever saw. Dr. DD had huge fingers with black hair on his knuckles, which he stuck into my mouth without any gloves whatsoever. Yuch! He filled my first cavity (I've been blessed with hard, bacteria-resistant teeth) and I nearly fainted away under the onslaught of the enormous drilling machine.
Contrast to my own children, who didn't have cavities because their pediatric dentist painted their toothies with some magical film. By the way, I'm pretty sure we didn't have pediatric dentists when I was a youth. I don't think Dr. Del Debbio even liked kids.
Then there was the x-ray torture, when every square inch of your body was draped in lead while you clenched pieces of cardboard and film awkwardly between your teeth. The technician went into a different room, which makes me wonder, now, if I was getting a perhaps unhealthy amount of radiation. Oh, well, it goes with all the lead I consumed, I guess. Now, the bits you clamp down on aren't much more comfortable, but it takes seconds and the images appear instantly on the technician's screen. Mirabile dictu!
Along with the technological improvements, I feel that dentists themselves are perhaps now graduate with some lectures on patient bedside manner. In my lifetime, I've heard, "Your daughter is a real Sarah Heartburn," (Dr. DD to my mother) "Julia, you drool like a Labrador," and "My God, your bones are like rocks! I thought I was going to have to stand on the armrests to wrestle them out!" That last was from the oral surgeon who removed my wisdom teeth in my late twenties.
There is one old tradition I'm a little sad to see go. Yes, if I managed to avoid screaming, Dr. Del Debbio would give me a lollipop. Got to keep those patients coming, after all!
How about you, dear readers? What dentistry improvements have you noticed? And have you had any memorable visits to your own version of Dr. DD?
Since I seem to have totally blocked any memory of my youthful dental experiences, I've nothing to compare today's dentistry experiences with, but I'm hoping that when I have my next visit, my dentist has one of those super-fast, micro-vibrating water cleaner thingies . . . .
ReplyDeleteIt made it so much easier, Joan!
DeleteMy dentist uses the ultrasonic high frequency (sound) vibration thingy and I don't like it because it's got a high pitch sound that hurts my ears. Ouch! However, it does make teeth cleaning much faster. I used to like when the dentist used to give you a little cup of water to rinse out your mouth and then you'd spit it in a little sink next to your dental chair. Now they just shoot water into your mount and you swallow it or it's sucked into a tube. My dentist of 40 years retired - he was so wonderful. His office now has young dentists right out of dental school and it seems like they are always recommending more things I need to buy or have done.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit, I am seeing more up selling at my dentist's practice, Anon.
DeleteOur dentist here in Portugal uses the water cleaner, too. It was such a surprise. As for bad memories of dentists: I hated going to a dentist when I was a kid. I had cavities, which meant drilling, which meant mouth shots, and I always cried my heart out. I don't remember getting a lollipop, either! Dentists really have improved so much in my lifetime.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting feature here, is that the dentist herself does the cleaning. The first time I went for a cleaning, I thought she was the assistant, until I mentioned sensitivity in a back tooth and wondered if something was wrong with the tooth. (Cavity, whatever.) She calmly swung a machine around, popped a cardboard in my mouth, took an Xray and said, "No, the tooth looks fine . . .," and then proceeded with the cleaning.
That's fascinating, Elizabeth. I wonder what the reasoning is?
DeleteThey combine expertise. She has an assistant, but the assistant does things like handle the tube that siphons excess water, etc. Same in other departments: Our opthalmologist is also our optometrist and writes the prescriptions, etc. We really like the approach.
DeleteJulia, even though there was a children’s dentist when I was a young child, for some reason I preferred to see my parents’ dentist, who was a kind person. I cannot recall why I did not want to see the children’s dentist.
ReplyDeleteThere have been some new technological changes at the dentist’s office. Instead of spitting out the water, there is a tube thing that sucks out the water and I have to ask for it. They still use metal scrapper to clean the teeth. I am going to ask them about the new water cleaner. The X-rays seem a little easier now. Not as cumbersome as it used to be.
And this topic reminded me of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot not liking the dentist. I have been lucky over the years with many good dentists, except for one who was so rough that my teeth always hurt for two weeks after seeing this dentist. I switched to another dentist after two times.
That sounds like a good choice, Diana!
DeleteYou have me laughing, Julia. As you were first talking Dr. DD, I was recalling my childhood dentist and his drawer of lollypops! "No cavities this time, kid. Here, have a big chunk of sugar so I'll have something to do next time." Then at the end, you mention you also had that same experience!
ReplyDeleteI remember having that stream of water sprayed in my mouth and then having to spit into a bowl with a spiral of water swirling it away. Now, they spray and suction. Quick and easy.
By the way, I also have been told I drool like a Lab. And my oral surgeon had a heart attack and retired immediately following the wrestling match with my wisdom teeth. Not saying it was because of me, but...
Sounds like we're sisters under the gum, Annette! 😂
DeleteHilarious Julia! My father in law was a dentist and I bet he'd barely recognize the equipment these days. I do remember my younger sister biting our dentist so then we were all demoted to a kid dentist.
ReplyDeleteLucy, we had to take Spencer to a specialist pediatric dentist because he fought the regular guy!
DeleteJULIA: I am envious of your hard bacteria-resistant teeth!
ReplyDeleteI had my dental cleaning last month. My dental hygenist did not use the new water cleaner. I got scraped the old fashioned way.
But my dentist does have most of the latest tech. X rays are super fast & resulrs can be displayed on the computer screen in a few minutes. Flouride treatments are now brushed on my teeth instead of that stuff they made you take from a cup and keep in your mouth for 90 seconds.
FYI, i have really soft enamel, receded gums so I go every 4 months to get my teeth checked & cleaned. Over 50 fillings, 5 root canals, 1 implant are in my mouth.
Grace, your last sentence could have been written about my mouth! I’m not sure how many fillings I have had, but numerous root canals, crowns and one implant are consistent with your description! — Pat S
DeleteGrace, yikes! I'm very aware of my dental privilege. I thank my Papaw Spencer, who had perfectly aligned, zero cavity teeth throughout his life.
DeleteOur dentist asked me why no one writes mysteries with a dentist as a lead character. I told him to start writing.
ReplyDeleteThere is a character in mystery books, not a main character exactly, but an important secondary character and it always seems to be his skills that solve the murder. The books are by Victoria Houston. I recommended them to my dentist, who also likes to fish, but then he retired and I never heard whether or not he liked the books.
DeleteMargaret, at the risk of offending your dentist, I'd guess it's because no one wants to spend any more time at the dental office than absolutely necessary!
DeleteJust thought of Carola Dunn’s “Die Laughing”. The dentist is not the sleuth, but the victim. The murderer is, however, not one his patients. I say no more, as there are multiple non-patient potentials for murderer. Elisabeth
DeleteGood changes! I also have cavity-resistant teeth. I had two fillings when I was 19 and I couldn't even tell you where they are. My teeth stain a lot, though, and I'm a grinder, so I have a much flatter bite than I used to.
ReplyDeleteEdith, I'm also a grinder, which I didn't discover until I was in my fifties! Now I wear a super -sexy night guard...
DeleteAbout five years ago, I had to have all the fillings from my childhood and young adulthood (maybe eight?) removed and replaced with a new substance, because the old ones were cracking. It wasn't pleasant, since it involved drilling, but I have a very nice young woman dentist, and she makes me feel in good hands (not to mention that she gave me pain-killer shots!) Mostly I see the dental hygienist, who cleans my teeth spectacularly well every six months. She sprays water instead of scraping, as you've described, and never fusses at me, just says she wishes I didn't drink so much black tea! I smile and keeping drinking it.
ReplyDeleteSame with me, KIM. All my metal amalgam fillings from childhood/young adulthood were replaced with white fillings which are supposed to last longer. Since I had over 50 fillings, it was a lot of work that needed to be done over several sessions.
DeleteKim and Grace, I had all of my amalgam fillings replaced and then started needing crowns and sometimes, if I was lucky (!), root canals, too. I don’t think the new filling materials are as strong as the old amalgam stuff. But isn’t there some kind of risk involved with the amalgam stuff leaching toxins or something? — Pat S
DeleteYes, they contained mercury, Pat. It was contained in the original fillings, but as they got older they began to leach out into the body's system.
DeleteI wonder if that has anything to do with the rise in dementia, frankly.
FYI, if your metal fillings are not cracked, do not replace them. They last for decades. The white resin can fail after five years.
DeleteI am a dentist, replacing fillings with no problems if for $.
This is very interesting for me. Since I had all this done in Switzerland, I thought it might be a Swiss thing, replacing amalgam fillings, but obviously, it isn't. Let's hope the new stuff lasts longer than five years!
DeleteKim, given the choice between white teeth and black tea, I'll take the latter every time!
DeleteMaybe I am lucky? The new white fillings were done 13 years ago and none have failed.
DeleteHow timely this is for me today, Julia, as I have an appointment later today to have new filling to replace one that fell out weeks ago. The change I have seen in dentistry is that when I was a kid and seemed to have a lot of cavities which needed filling, I was never given novocaine. Nope, the dentist just got on with it. Then, after that dentist retired or was gone for some reason, the new guy always wanted to give me that shot, which I thought was worse than the drilling. But I liked him and stayed with him up to a couple years ago when he retired. So today's filling will be with my new dentist and I hope it will go well. An interesting thing about my old dentist - several times he had commented to me that my teeth were just like my father's. Mind you my father had been dead for more than 30 years at that time so I had to wonder if all dentists remember everyone's teeth.
ReplyDeleteI have had that water cleaning that you mentioned, Julia, and I really like it even though the water goes all over everything. But it was used with the scraping, not instead of.
Julia, I forgot to ask why the dentist had to give his okay before your knee surgery. What am I missing?
ReplyDeleteWith apologies to you spray suction thing fans…I feel as if I am being waterboarded! Ugh! Until that started (with my dentist in Connecticut about 7 years ago) I had had good experiences with dentists. I do have “hard” teeth and had my only wisdom tooth out 3 years ago…the other 3 never grew, all my wisdom is inside my head? Cheers, Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteFirst-off, I was surprised to read of you needing a dental appt to have surgery on your knee! We are off in about 30 mins (currently corralling cats) to Halifax for the beginning of my sister’s new regime – tomorrow is plasmapheresis (harvesting her T-cells), the pharmacy and a dental surgeon review. Three weeks later – the cells have to go to California to be revamped and sent back - it will be T-cell implant, chemo, immunotherapy and stay in hospital/in Halifax for 8 weeks minimum. I can see why if she is going through all this you would need to be complete body checked out as chemo is hard on the enamel of your teeth, but knee surgery?
ReplyDeleteI had braces at 13. That took out 6 of my teeth to make space, and since braces were really new, no one laughed or anything. Nice! However, I kept having to have a plate or something made of my mouth to see how things were – much like getting a new set of dentures made. This involved what seemed like a 10 pound bag of icky cement mixed with water (he called it ‘pudding’) which tasted really horrible, and then being put in a metal springy thing which looked like my grandmother’s tea strainer and was at least 6 times larger than my mouth (he had to pry my cheeks open and then shove to get it in), then I had to clamp down on it, and hold. Now I have a really bad gag reflex. Makes my mouth fill even at the thought of it. After the top one, there came the bottom one. Thoughts of suicide filled my head.
Gag reflex is still there so X-rays are a nightmare, but as Julia says, the films are much smaller, and at least the tech who I have is a lot faster. The few procedures that I have had in the last few years have been filling replacements – how can you lose a filling drinking tea? I just sit in the chair – no freezing – drill, squish in new stuff, dust off the bib and I am gone – 10 mins! Good dentist.
Time to leave – be back on Sat. Don’t talk about anything too interesting, and I hope not ‘what you are watching’ as I have some great shows (we think) lined up!
Safe driving and good luck with everything, Margo. — Pat S
DeleteWhat Pat S. said, Margo. You are a good sister.
DeleteMargo, you might not see this, but I also have a major gag reflex. Last time I needed X-rays (which I always postpone as long as I can), the hygienist told me you can't gag if you're humming. It works! I am amazed. Try it.
DeleteSadly I am in the "soft enamel" group, so I have had far too many dental experiences. Then a few years ago, all my old dental work began wearing out and I was put on a "treatment plan" which meant that every time I went in for my semi-annual cleaning, they would replace as many fillings or crowns as the insurance company would approve. It took several years to get me to the point of everything being bright and new again, and left me with a real aversion to visiting the dentist. (Those fillings had gone in much more gradually, not leaving me traumatized.)
ReplyDeleteI am also no fan of the water cleaner. It sounds far too much like a drill, setting my nerves on edge the entire time. So they have a note in my file and don't use it on me anymore. The hygienist told me last time that if I didn't take such good care of my teeth they would insist upon using the water tool, because it makes their work much faster. But I have so little to clean that they don't mind taking the time to do it by hand. (That wasn't intended as a boast -- it's strictly fear that motivates me!)
"Julia, You drool like a Labrador"....Haha...I just lost the first sip of my morning coffee from laughing so hard! My dental stories go back too far; they are nightmares as a result of being a child of the 1950's blessed with soft teeth and lousy gums. Lots of cavities and abscessed teeth which back then they just pulled them out. So I'll try to leave you with the more "pleasant" stories with a touch of warmth and humor...if that is possible. In my late twenties I finally found a dentist who also was a top-notch instructor at Tufts Dental School. He was not intimidated in the least by the set of problems...and teeth...I brought to him. The solution was quite costly at $25,000.00 and 45 years ago that was no small potatoes. I was also engaged to be married so I bought a $25,000.00 loan to the table for my husband to be. That certainly cut into the wedding budget just a bit as well as to when we wanted to get married. We had planned a winter wedding in February and then off to Aspen for an our skiing honeymoon. I remember the dentist saying "No way will your case be finished by then and I can't have you shushing down the mountainside with temps in your mouth. You'll be ready by the end of May...you'll get married then." So we did... On a lovely Friday evening in May and the honeymoon took place in Phoenix. Sans skis, of course. I well remember him tackling my case aggressively in the beginning. On a Saturday and I was in a dental chair for 8 hours. Meanwhile my nervous fiancé sat in the dentist's office getting smashed on the doctor's bottle of scotch; you would think he was the one having the dental work done! Years later this prosthodontist's work was praised by an oral surgeon who had to remove an abscessed tooth (yes...the beat still goes on but not as frequently); he could not believe that much of the work done 45 years prior had held up so well. And going to this oral surgeon was not that bad. He sent me home with a fleece blanket and a pint of blackberry ice cream. :-) A nice touch and a wonderful way to treat his patients.
ReplyDeleteI just thought of something else that is very different now from when I was a kid. We saw the dental hygienist at school, once a year, I think, and she made her recommendations. As a fifth-grader I remember seeing a postcard in the mail that said I needed an extraction. I was pretty sure I knew what that word meant but I went to the dictionary to be sure. Yep. Then on the fateful day I had a note from home to walk downtown, during school hours, and go to the dentist. I cannot even imagine that sort of thing happening now.
ReplyDeleteI went to a pediatric dentist, I think he was at least, I know he was different from my parents dentist.
ReplyDeleteI loathed him beyond description of loathing.
He called his dental instruments by what he must have thought we’re child friendly names, like “Mr. Woodpecker” and “Mr Buzzy.… I don’t even remember the other ones. But it was ridiculous, and even then I thought it was disgusting, and even disrespectful to me. I was a kid, but I wasn’t an idiot.
Plus, he was sort of smarmy in a handsome smarmy kind of way, and I just instantly disliked him. I guess you can tell that.
Plus his office smelled like dentist office, a fragrance which has pretty much vanished these days, come to think of it.
Also, I kept telling him that the Novacaine wasn’t working, and he would not believe me! He would say oh, yes it is.
And I would say that what you are doing is hurting me, and he would say no it isn’t. (Who do you think knew better that something hurt, me or him?)
Turns out, a million years later, an adult dentist realized that the nerves in my mouth were not placed where everyone else’s were, and that indeed, the Novacaine did not work on me the way it worked on most patients because where he was putting it did not matter.
You can tell I am still bitter.
HANK: How awful that you were not believed by your pediatric dentist that the Novacaine wasn't working for you. Glad you did not becoming fearful of dental procedures as an adult.
DeleteSorry, Hank...I don't mean to chuckle but "Mr. Woodpecker"?????!!!! Maybe he thought he was another Mr. Rogers but once you introduced the word "smarmy" into the narrative flags Instantly popped up in my head. Clearly, he missed the mark especially when he ignored your persistent pleas about feeling a great deal of pain despite the novocaine. What a snarky piece of work!
DeleteDon't forget Mr. Buzzy! It might be cute for a cartoon/video show or something but it is unusual to act that way with patients. He definitely should have stopped and taken time to figure out why the Novocaine wasn't working.
DeleteHank, did you kill off a character like him in one of your mysteries?
DeleteHank, it sounds like we may have had the same dentist! Mine called me a liar when I said my mouth wasn’t numb yet.
DeleteDebRo
OHHHH--DebRo, that is SO awful! It's so much easier for them to ignore a child, and truly believe that since they have clearly done everything correctly, it cannot be their fault. It's very sad. And Grace, it made me hate going to the dentist...and eventually I got to go to someone else. I still hate the smell. And the anticipation. But these days, it's much better. And now they understand the placement of the nerves, so it's more annoying than painful.
DeleteDiana, good idea! xx
And Evelyn and Anon, yeah, there were some layers there. But I actually think he thought he was connecting with me, speaking kid language. Bleah.
Growing up in the 1950s was interesting to say the least. Our family dentist challenged our parents. If our 6 month visit had no cavities, there was no charge. Believe me, my mother made sure I brushed my teeth!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if the dentist I went to as a kid was a pediatric dentist, but he filled cavities at the drop of a hat. As an adult, I've had one cavity. Seems like every time I went to the dentist as a kid, I needed a filling. I believe he is also the dentist who told me at 18 that my wisdom teeth were "not developed enough" to remove, which led my orthodontist to say I wouldn't get rid of the retainer until my wisdom teeth came out and wanted me to come back from college every month to have it checked. Um, no. I finally had my wisdom teeth removed in my late 20s because they'd never erupted and I was starting to experience bone loss in my jaw. I told this story to my oral surgeon, who replied, "Bull. They could have taken them out." Sigh.
ReplyDeleteWhen my kids had braces, I was amazed at the change in orthodontic tech. Less pain, shorter time.
I had no strong feelings about my old dentist, although the root canal was torture. But the new guy seems nice and I don't recall any scraping, so maybe they have the nifty new tool.
I grew up before fluoride was made mandatory in water supplies. Like many others, I too had soft enamel combined with a voracious sweet tooth. Oh, they did love to see me coming. The dentist from
ReplyDeleteLittle Shop of Horrors wasn't really based on my dental history, but it could have been. Anatomy played a part: chubby cheeks, a small mouth, and a terrified patient. It wasn't until I found my current dentist, Dr. Alana, who works with a hearing-impaired person (devices and water don't work well together) and has tiny hands, that I became willing to attend fairly regularly. These days, the teeth that are doing the best sit in a container overnight.
Coralee, I remember back in the 1950's fluoride was introduced into our public water supply. It prevented a lot of cavities but now the dentists "paint" the teeth with fluoride to prevent cavities in kids. There is controversy but it does keep kids cavity free.
DeleteIronically, fluoride was considered to be a communist plot a long time ago. Wasn't there a Nazi plot to put fluoride in the water during the Second World War?
DeleteMy hometown has a naturally fluoridated aquifer. I can't imagine how that is not beneficial.
DeleteHmm what dentist story to share? I got my ears pierced by our family dentist when I was a teenager. As a young adult, I had a great dentist who used to laugh and joke with his assistant while he was working on me. I left with my cavity filled and an hour of entertainment. When he retired, I started going to a dentist a few blocks from home. My neighbor worked in the office and told me he was one of the best dentists in town. A few years later, she got fired after a conflict with the dentist's wife, Honey (misnomer alert) who also worked in the front office. I told my neighbor that I wanted to find a new dentist, but she advised me to stay with Dr. K. Later I heard that Honey had also driven out many hygienists. Dr. K was unfailingly polite and responsive to his patients, and he treated his assistants very well, thanking them for each instrument they handed over. He retired and sold the practice to Dr. A, who is just fine. I have to go every 4 months because I'm a little tartar machine. I once (after my 5th crown?) asked Dr. A if he knew what a dentist's favorite hymn was. Of course it's Crown Him with Many Crowns. Dr. A didn't seem to be amused.
ReplyDeleteAnother soft enamel person here. Lots of dentists over the years. There was the dentist who should have chosen to be perhaps a butcher? No sensitivity at all to what the patient was feeling, large hands. There was the dental student (at Ohio State as a grad student, I took advantage of the School of Dentistry) who nearly cried because he couldn't get my mouth sufficiently numbed for a procedure. He had to call in his instructor. Turns out I too have nerves that are hard to numb. But my favorite was a dentist I had in Colorado. He brought in his scrapbook to show me archaeological digs for which he'd volunteered. One of his patients was Johnny Carson's mom, who would fly in for her appointments. (Flora)
ReplyDeleteI just had a descaling. It was not fun but so much better than gum disease which causes all sorts of horrible things. Dentistry has changed. The Hooligans pediatric dentists were the bomb with a waiting room decked out like a jungle - even I loved going there and sliding down the slide. LOL.
ReplyDeleteJulia, I am rolling on the floor. My mother used to call me Sarah Heartburn and I have never heard it from anyone else. Hysterical. My childhood dentist used to give out lollipops, too. There was no such thing as Novocain, laughing gas, or any similar option, at least not for kids getting fillings. And remember the swirling water in the bowl and the bright light that was probably meant to hide the laughing dentist from sight as he drilled away on live teeth? Oh, wait, that might be Little Shop of Horrors. Nevermind. Nope, I remember the oblong light fer sure. To this day, I dread the dentist. Silly in an adult, but nevertheless...dread.
ReplyDeleteOur (female) dentists just announced that they are now using a new technology called Guided Biofilm Therapy, which uses air and water to remove biofilm (plaque and tartar), and for polishing the teeth. Is this the same thing? Sounds more expensive.
ReplyDeleteSteve just had a filling yesterday. His teeth are a mess, largely thanks to having had braces in his tweens, and after every visit to the orthodontist his mother would take him to get doughnuts. LOL
Starting in high school, when I took myself to the dentist (both my parents had false teeth, and two of my three siblings had to have all their teeth extracted), and paid for my own weird extra tooth extraction, I've had a fraught relationship with my poor teeth and jaw. It's too long of a saga to go into, but thanks to an incompetent oral surgeon who broke my jaw when he was removing one of my lower wisdom teeth, I ended up with four jaw surgeries, several pulled teeth, and two years' of braces in my late 30's. I've had a failed root canal that ended in extraction, and excruciating trigeminal neuralgia because of it. Because of the broken jaw I had no sense of taste for sweet or salty for two years, and still have a numb place from one side of my lower lip down, thanks to a severed nerve. (Sometimes I can't tell if there's food there, so if we dine together, could you please let me know? Thank you.) Oh, and I'm another one who needs extra numbing, too.
Despite all that, I love our last three dentists in an all-woman practice. They are careful, competent, and so kind and gentle. Plus, it takes us less than ten minutes to get there, even though they're in a different state. The original principal retired a couple years ago, and I miss her. But her two successors are excellent, and the one I go to took nearly an hour to discuss my issues a year or two ago. No mansplaining!!
My grandmother gave my Mom a dollar to go to the dentist by herself. The dentist was next door to the apartment building.
DeleteJust went to my dentist for cleaning. Hooray for technology! I'm a '50s girl so I remember spitting in that bowl with swirling water, especially loved the blood going down the drain! I was petrified to go to the family dentist when I was a little kid and would just shake on the way there. One time, he said he was just going to "measure my tooth" and proceeded to pull it!! I will never forget that. I do look forward to getting my teeth cleaned every 6 months because they look and feel so good after.
ReplyDeleteI have one of those weird mouths that dentists find so fascinating that they bring others in to look at the x-rays. None of my baby teeth came out voluntarily, so I was quite familiar with our family dentist. He was kind and gentle and knew when he was out of his league and sent me to an oral surgeon. First, I had a number of baby teeth surgically removed along with bones that had grown between the baby teeth and permanent teeth. That left me with gaps that I have to this day because the permanent teeth decided not to erupt. After that it was another visit to the oral surgeon to remove my wisdom teeth. Ick. I still remember spitting up blood after I returned home. Strange how some of those things stay with you.
ReplyDeleteOver the years I have visited multiple dentists and finally have one I truly like. He is well aware that I have a "weird" mouth - his words - and understands my history not only dentally, but medically. Of course, that doesn't stop him showing the panoramic x-ray of my mouth to colleagues and new staff. I have multiple supernumerary teeth that are just hanging out and need to be monitored to be sure they don't penetrate my sinus or break my jawbone. Also, when I had a broken tooth removed, the hole never completely filled itself in. I asked him about it and he said, for your mouth, that's about as good as it gets. Gotta love a truth teller.
I also have graduated to periodontal maintenance instead of 6-month cleanings. I can honestly say they have improved tremendously over the years. We've reached the point that if they know the scaling might hurt, they numb the areas. I finally do not dread going to have my teeth worked on. On a slightly different note, some dentists have wanted me to get partials or implants to fill my gaps. One even sent me to an oral surgeon for a second opinion. I love that man. He looked at my x-rays and said under no circumstances was I to have implants with those supernumerary teeth hanging out. He also told me that dentists see a hole and want to fill it. We agreed that if I was okay with the gaps (which, at that point I had been blessed with for 40 years) then there was no need to fill them. Kudos for saying what others tiptoed around. -- Victoria
Last month I had my latest teeth cleaning. I go every four months. They have some, but not all, of the latest equipment. I love this dentist! He took over when my previous dentist retired. The other one was okay, but this young man really “gets it” that there is such a thing as dentist phobia. He told me that he hates going to the dentist! He’s the best dentist I’ve ever had, and I’m 76! As a teenager I had a horrible experience with a dentist, Dr Horrible, and I never went back to him. It was a long time before I would see any dentist at all. I’ve had several over the years.
ReplyDeleteDr Horrible: When I was a senior in high school I had to have a tooth pulled. There wasn’t anything wrong with it, but he said it was crowding my mouth. We lived a couple of blocks from his office so I walked over there after school to have the extraction done. He gave me Novocaine, but without numbing the gum first. The needle was very painful, and for a few seconds I had double vision. I felt like he had pierced my eyeball! Then we had to wait for the gum to get numb. He kept checking, and it was still not numb. While we were waiting, he sat there smoking a cigarette. Finally, he told me I was lying about it not being numb, and he went ahead and pulled the tooth! He had trouble with it. He was pushing against my forehead with one hand, and yanking at my tooth with the other. And my mouth was still not numb. It didn’t begin to get numb until after I walked home.
I avoided dentists as much as possible for a very long time. I found one who advertised that he specialized in treating people who were afraid of the dentist. He was kind, but he couldn’t understand why I never stopped being afraid. After a few years I stopped going to him, mostly because I had moved to another area, and he had no appointment slots that would work for me. I eventually found one in the town where I live now. He was good, but not as compassionate as the young man who took over his practice when he retired a few years ago. Unless this young man decides to stop practicing, I expect to be seeing him for the rest of my life.
DebRo
What a horrible experience! I despise medical folks who don't believe you when you say an area is not numb. And then for him to be smoking while in your presence, that just made me ill. I am so sorry you had that disturbing experience and am happy to know you've found a good dentist. Blessings on all your dental visits going forward! -- Victoria
DeleteThat is HORRIBLE. Nightmare. I am so sorry, DebRo.
DeleteI guess I am fortunate. My first dentist was my mother's favorite brother. Uncle Pierce was a sweetie and very gentle. Unfortunately I have soft enamel so I saw him a lot and have a lot of fillings. When he died young, we went to the dentist who bought his practice but he wasn't good so we changed. It's a good thing I don't mind dentist as I have seen a lot of them. I had braces which required removal of four teeth, wisdom teeth extraction, then a extra wisdom tooth extraction (yes, I had five wisdom teeth and the last one was taken out in my thirties), gum surgery, and crowns. I loved my dentist who did my crowns (he's actually one of our good friends and we hated it when he retired) and I loved my periodontist. I now go three times a year to the periodontist hygienist and once a year to my regular dentist's hygienist. They are all lovely people and it seems I have a high pain threshold and as I said was never afraid of the dentist. They all have the latest equipment. When our friend retired it did take us awhile to find a new dentist who didn't wasn't to completely redo our mouths. My husband finally told one (whom we rejected) that no, he didn't want veneers as he never planned to be in the movies.
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I don't remember the name of my first dentist, just that he was a bit of a jokester. He told my mom that when he was born he didn't have any teeth. That went right over her head until ten or fifteen minutes later. When Frank and I lived in El Paso in the 1970s we went to a dentist who wore a mask and gloves. Unusual for the time. His dental assistant was really nice and very bosomy. When she cleaned teeth your head was cradled to her bosom. It actually was very comforting. I'm sure the male patients were in heaven!
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