SOMETIMES we dentists are greeted with insults by our patients who most likely think it will make their visit better. Mostly, here is how it starts: “No offense, Doc, but I hate the dentist.”

Imagine if you were a dentist and heard this comment! I try to think mercifully when I hear this comment and understand the point of view of the person saying it. Maybe I might even be the one saying it if I were not a dentist.

Generally, jokingly, I will make sure what their profession is and then I will say, for example, “Well, you know, I have always hated plumbers,” or something else just to get the joke across. Usually people get the point right away.

When people say, “No offense, Doc, I hate the dentist,” they are really saying, “Hey, I have had a bad experience in the past and I do not like being here because of it.” We understand that, and we work to make sure that that experience does not replicate itself for you. You see, dentistry no longer has to mean difficulty and challenge. It no longer has to be a dread. No, dentistry does not have to be that way at all. If you still feel that you hate the dentist, you have been seeing the wrong dentist. The new technology and techniques that are available will make you see dentistry in a whole new way.

Many persons make wrong decisions as regards their dental wellbeing because of lack of knowledge. For instance, they say, “When they get bad, just take them out.” Boy, if this were only the right solution, we would love it! Removing the offending tooth does make sense in a way: it gets rid of the pain. But every time you remove a tooth there is a whole series of chain reactions that occur. For one thing, the other teeth move. The gap or space created causes additional stresses on other teeth, often resulting in an impaired chewing function, gum disease and loss of still more teeth.
A general mistake that people make is to give more importance to their front teeth over the back ones. However insane the sentiment seems, it does point out one thing: that people value the appearance of their smile. And indeed, a lot of times no one can see the back ones. But there are serious problems with such logic. Your back teeth are made for chewing and grinding your food. The front teeth are made for viewing. If you try to chew with the teeth made for view, the teeth will break down. The back teeth are there for a reason. The posterior teeth give you the ability to chew and to function. On the other hand the front teeth are good for incising, smiling, singing, and expressing yourself.
If simply yanking teeth were the end-all solution, people would just take all their teeth out and get dentures. In fact, for a time in certain countries, including Canada, this was thought to be the ultimate wedding gift. It was thought to be superb to remove all the teeth and give the wedding couple dentures. Seriously! That way they would always avoid dental problems in the future. But we know that is certainly not true. The truth is, dentures are the equivalent of oral wigs, and most people are much more satisfied with wearing their own hair than with wearing a wig.
Some people can tolerate anything. I have seen people who do not wear dentures at all and manage to eat without any teeth. And though it is an extreme exception, I have also seen people who wear upper full denture with neither lower denture nor natural teeth. But what about normal dentures? How often does a person who has dentures “function normally?” One in ten at best. My guess is closer to one in fifteen. Unfortunately, you would not know if you can tolerate dentures until you have lost all your teeth. Whatever you do, try hard to do everything to keep your teeth. It is more than worth the while.

Dr. BERTRAND R. STUART, DDS