Even If You Don't Fit In, You Can Still Live Your Dream

Sometimes Hollywood makes fun of dentists. Actually it seems to happen quite often. I can't think of the last time a year went by where I didn't see a dentist made fun of in a movie; worse than that, I can't think of the last time I saw a dentist featured as the hero of a movie. Somehow I don't ever see it happening; as a profession we make the butt of many really good jokes. At least it is not as bad for us as it is for politicians.



With that in mind, I revert back to my childhood days when network TV had America by the eyes and every channel had a Christmas Special that you absolutely couldn't miss. While there were many specials geared toward adults (Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Perry Como, Andy Williams, et. al.) some were directly targeted at a "little kid" audience. As a kid of 4 or so, they were point directly at me! I can recall the first time I saw "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer," which debuted in 1964. It was a fascinating animated story that completely captivated me. The story gets you cheering for the underdog, which in this case, is a reindeer who befriends a rejected elf, who wants to be a dentist, and a miner who looks for precious metals at the North Pole. These societal outcasts band up to face their life challenges, then end up separating to face them alone, all along the way they meet others who, likewise, just don't fit in.


While I didn't realize it at the time, or maybe it was a brain washing, the seeds of my career were being subliminally planted, and while I have never taken teeth out of an abominable snowman, I somehow related to the character Hermey, and still somewhat relate to him today. Even though he is 1/10 my size, towheaded, pointy eared, mostly nasal-ish, seems to like the very cold,  Santa elf I still like him; he has a heart of gold, he has a dream, and he sticks with it.


So, at this time of the year I give you my salute to Hermey. Thanks for not fitting in, and being a little bit of an inspiration to all us dentists.

A "Retired" Dentist Sounds Off.

Now, I don’t really hate anyone, at least I try not to; it is just not good for your overall health and well-being. I can’t remember the last time I did really hate someone.

Back to the subject at hand. I came across this blog written by a former dentist; she is young and decided it was time to change careers. It seems she had a few things she had to get off her chest after her vocational alteration. I laughed pretty hard, and keep it in mind that this is done light heartedly and is just meant to have a good giggle.

So here it is, not quite in David Letterman format;

10 Reasons Your Dentist Probably Hates You Too

Posted on November 28, 2011

     Now that I’ve left my career and cut some dead weight out of my life, I feel ready to look back and have a laugh– or just finally be able openly bitch about it.  So here’s my confession: I am a dentist who really didn’t love the dentist either being a dentist.  A few months ago I came across a funny post titled, “10 Reasons I Hate The Dentist.“  It appeared right when I was in the thick of my career transition.  It inspired me to write this, so, RedHead Chronicles, thank you for the inspiration.

10 Reasons Your Dentist Probably Hates You Too

1.  The first thing you say when you sit down in my chair is, “I hate the dentist.”  Really?!?  Did your parents teach you any manners?  Did they ever teach you that it is impolite to tell someone you hate them the moment you greet them?  What I really want to say back is, “aww, I hate you too.”

2.  You come to your appointment, and it’s obvious you haven’t brushed your teeth in days.  I’ve had some people with great hygiene come in and apologize because they’ve just eaten lunch and couldn’t brush.  This is not what I’m talking about.  I mean food and thick plaque everywhere.  After 10 years of seeing blood and rotten teeth and some really nasty things, this is still the 1 thing that makes me dry heave.  You know when you come to us that we have to be in your mouth.  Would you clean your home before having company?  Additionally, I have spent hours literally bending over backwards repairing your teeth.  Could you at least pretend that you are caring for the work that I have struggled to complete for you?

3.  After we have spent hours of meticulously repairing your teeth, you complain about the bill.  Would you walk out of the grocery store with a bag full of groceries and expect not to pay?  I’ve just helped you to continue to smile and eat comfortably, two pretty valuable things that help your quality of life.

4.  I tell you that you have a cavity and you need a filling, and you wait months or even years to get the necessary work done.  Eventually the tooth starts hurting.  Two weeks of pain go by, and you call me on a Saturday night while I am at dinner with friends because your tooth that needed a filling a year ago and that started hurting 2 weeks ago is suddenly an emergency.

5.  You come to me so I can help you, but you make it hard for me to do a good job.  You wince and make faces when it’s not hurting.  The idea that I’m hurting you makes me just as uncomfortable and stressed as you are.  If it hurts, please tell me, and I can help you with that.  But if it’s because you don’t like the whole experience, you are only causing me to work in undesirable conditions, making it harder to do my best.  And when you push your tongue in the way, or you don’t open wide enough, it makes it physically impossible to get my work done.  Don’t you want it to be easy for me to do the best job for you?

6.  You call and say, “my tooth didn’t hurt before you worked on it.”  You came to me with a cavity.  I did not put it there.  You did.  I am simply fixing a rotten hole that was in your tooth.  To do so, I must use a tiny drill to cut the rot out of your tooth.  If I took a drill, cut a hole in your femur bone, and then filled it in with a foreign material, don’t you think it might be sore for a while?  Same concept.

7.  When we try to take an x-ray, you won’t bite down on it.  We have to do this to see what is going on with your tooth.  Without knowing the problem, we can’t properly treat you.  I know, in some cases some people really can’t do it; but some people could and won’t just suck it up for 15 seconds.  I’ve had x-rays too, and they hurt and dig into my gums, but I just do it.

8.  You tell me that you bought my car for me after having a crown done.  Contrary to how it seems, you actually didn’t buy me a car.  You bought yourself a crown.  I have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on an education, and have spent hours making this crown fit precisely in your mouth, so maybe you helped me make a portion of a student loan payment.  But you certainly didn’t buy my car.

9.  You no-show an appointment or cancel last-minute.  Some things are unavoidable, but when it’s because your hairdresser got a last-minute cancellation and you had to take that appointment instead, this is just rude.  Not only am I unable to fill the 2 hours of my schedule that I reserved specifically for you, but someone else who wanted to get in had to wait 2 weeks for his/her appointment.  And on that note, when you have the first appointment of the day, and you show up late for your appointment, I am late for every other patient the rest of the day.

10.  When I tell you that you grind your teeth, you deny it, as if I am accusing you of having a horrible disease or being a baby murderer.  It’s not that bad to be a tooth grinder.  I’m just pointing something out and maybe offering a way to prevent more problems in the future.  This observation is concluded from signs or symptoms that are based on real science, not myth.

And along those lines… bonus #11. You tell me a diagnosis I make is simply wrong without listening to me.  If you know so much, why are you coming to me?  You do the filling or root canal yourself.  You obviously don’t need me.

Aaahhh… I feel much better now.

If this isn’t you, I am sure your dentist loves you.  You are probably the bright spot of his/her day.  But it makes you wonder, how do you behave when you go to the dentist?  And most importantly, are you making it easy for your dentist to give you the kind of care you want and deserve?

OK. Just a light hearted view from the other side of the chair. Hope you laughed.

Actually, we don’t have too many folks like the ones in the descriptions above. I have great patients and my staff seems to not invite the bad ones back. : )