A visit to the dentist »
Kids these days just don’t realize how good they have it when it comes to a visit with the dentist. Anyone that grew up in the late 60’s early 70s knows exactly what I’m talking about. It was a far cry from the high-tech, soothing sanctuary that is today’s dental office.
When I was a kid, a trip to the dentist office was not unlike being sent to a medieval torture chamber. It started off with sleepless nights leading up to your appointment. Then when the fateful day finally arrived, you were dragged kicking and screaming into a smoke-filled waiting room full of other stone-faced victims…er… I mean … patients.
The needles, pliers and other dental instruments were laid out neatly on a stainless steel tray next to the chair. Just the site of them would drive you to the brink of anxiety.
Even the dentists themselves were different. They were evil people that seemed to harbor contempt for their patients. Unlike dentist’s of today, a comfortable and pain-free experience for the patient was unheard of. My dentist actually had a lit cigarette burning in the ashtray that he’s puff on while working on my teeth. Forget about gloves and surgical masks.
I remember my dentist reading me the riot act as he filled the syringe with Novocain. I could be a man about it and things would go smoothly, or I could cry and squirm around and risk having the drill go through my cheek or gums. It was a freaking nightmare I tell you. The guy would start drilling into your tooth before the freezing had a chance to take effect. Every time I jumped when he hit a nerve, he would curse me out. There was no suction in those days. Every once in a while when your mouth became full of tooth grindings causing you to gag and choke he’s sit you up and tell you to spit into a steel basin which was connected to the chair. As for the taste … anyone who has ever experienced the taste of a mouth full of rotten tooth grindings knows that it sticks with you for the rest of your life.
Even the post visit stage of the experience was horrible. At a time when there was no such thing as a pain-free dental visit, you could pretty much count on spending the next week or two in agony. I can remember one visit in particular where I had to have a tooth pulled. The fore-mentioned dentist actually yanked it out after admittedly freezing the wrong tooth. If that were to happen today, the guy would have his ass sued all the way back to the stone age.
Nope…kids today don’t realize just how good they have it.
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