There is nothing that people hate as much as going to the dentist. “It’s nothing personal,” they used to tell me. The baggage people carried with them about their real or perceived dental experiences could keep all the psychiatrists and psychologists in the world busy for the rest of their lives.
My experience of being in the dental profession for 30 years had more of its share of biting moments than teeth marks on my operating hands. Not only did I have to deal with a wide-awake patient’s anxieties about invasive procedures in a personally protected and very private space, but I had to experience their aversion to paying for treatment they would for the most part, prefer not to have. Pulling teeth was easier. In my opinion, when it comes to dealing with people, dentistry could very well be the most taxing of any profession.
As if Dentistry Wasn’t Bad Enough!
Whether it is visions of Sir Lawrence Olivier in Marathon Man drilling into a live tooth without anesthesia, Steve Martin as the sadistic dentist in Little Shop of Horrors, or a murdering Corbin Bernson in the farcical horror flick, The Dentist, the results of such marketing have left indelible marks on millions of would-be patients. Dentists all over the world have always been faced with counteracting such damaging slants to the profession. Children’s dentists have invested in many distractions to make the experience a positive one early on and adults have found fish tanks, headphones and virtual movies an adjunct to the valium and nitrous oxide. In recent years, however, with the advent of Cosmetic Dentistry, dentists have been able to position themselves much more favorably by appealing to vanity. Veneers, porcelain crowns, tooth whitening and invisible braces have kept more dentists in business than restorations for decayed teeth. The artistry may have quite possibly surpassed durability and functionality in order of importance for the consumer. Even the healthy practice of teeth cleaning is more tempting if the end result promises a brighter smile. The reality, however, is that dentistry needs to be recognized for its importance to overall health and must establish itself as a profession that is well respected and totally integrated into the entire health care community.
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