Oops!

Think About It.  Oops!  The upper gum was numb around my number 15 and I forgot the ice cream for a soft lunch.  The root canal was far from my first affair in the chair.  That was 75 years ago.  Dr. Godfrey smoked cigars and chewed Beeman’s Clove gum to mask the smell.  The obligatory drill was operated by a jointed crane-like extension  with heavy twisted wires leading to a gear that spun the bit that made the hole for the filling. It must have been manufactured by the Rube Goldberg company. With a tiny mirror stuck in my mouth, he reckoned the best spot to poke before pushing the pedal on the pump driving the smoking apparatus.  At least that’s how I remember my experience at eight years old.

Post grad endodontist, Dr. Maru was one of the dozens of students that hold forth at the local school of dentistry.  It’s a great place for retirees with available time, fixed incomes and rapidly increasing health costs.  After a successful major bone graft and oversized implant a few years ago, I thought I would go back for more.  The morning trip was the first step.

These medical specialists form an inspiring multicultural, multiracial convocation that seems to function far better than the truculent, exasperating, bickering United Nations.  I even asked it the school offered frequent refresher classes in courtesy.  Without exception, the teachers, students, assistants and patients were greeted and treated the way people of good will and leader modeling makes any society a joy.  With knowing smiles, the answer was, “We have great advisers”.

Now the good news.  Thanks to rapid increases in technology and discounts or gifts from suppliers,  fees are lower than most public practices.  The shiny new equipment makes the dreaded practice a whole new experience.  No smoke and mirrors.  With an intensely lighted microscopic camera, a tiny hole was created with a barely buzzing little device.  That procedure and what followed were viewed by the doctor through connected binoculars or an amply magnified monitor that even impressed passing students.

Again that’s how I saw it from flat on my back with my mouth wide open.  The feeling that she could actually see what she was so delicately and competently performing was a comforting feeling.  There were no awkward pauses or hurried requests for expert assistance, thank you.  I just hate it when the dentist says Oops!   Think About It.