Be grateful for a happy Dentist!

I went to the dentist recently and that was only because I absolutely had to. The pain was at the stage where I was considering removing the tooth myself. I hated the idea of having to go and I suspect that I’m not alone in my fear. I reckon it goes back to the torture I suffered as a child at the hands of a guy who was not big on sympathy.

Like all kids, I had to make the occasional visit to the dentist. I’m pretty sure that he was trained by Dr. Josef Mengele. For any of you too young to have heard of the esteemed Mengele, he was the guy who performed outrageous experiments on the inhabitants of concentration camps during World War Two. Mengele performed many of these experiments without the use of anaesthetic which is a trick he passed on to my former dentist.

He must have used something but he was obviously trying to spare it. He used to tell me to raise my hand in the air if he was hurting me. The blood drained from my arms and I was blinded by my own tears but the pain continued. I’m sure he used an industrial drill that he had to hold in both hands. One slip and he would have drilled through my tooth and my neck, through the back of the chair and into the next room. Builders used to borrow it to demolish houses.

It was a terrible experience for any child to have to go through and no doubt, that’s where I get my present phobia from. It is however unfounded. I have made regular trips to other dentists during my adult life and while I never look forward to it, the actual experience has never been too bad. The most recent visit was almost a pleasure.

My new best friend and current dentist is a relatively young man. After giving me the anaesthetic he began his work almost immediately. He kept checking that I was ok and he was treating me like a child. I didn’t mind in the least because I know I was acting like one.

It seems that you no longer have to sit in the waiting room to wait for the gum to go numb. This twenty miniute waiting period was often the worst part of the whole experience.

You had to sit there and listen to the sound of the drill and the cries of the current victim. You knew that your turn was coming. You watched as the door opened and some poor young lad staggered out with his hand to his mouth and his cheeks stained with a mixture of tears, blood and pink mouth wash. Then terror struck as you heard your name being called.

Nowadays, as soon as you get the injection, the area concerned goes numb almost immediately. So he started straight away and the rest of the procedure was a breeze leaving me to wonder what all the fuss was about.

Afterwards I was wondering what it is that makes people want to become dentists. Why would anyone want to be in such close proximity to mouths and strange breaths all day long? Also aware that the person in front of you would rather be anywhere else in the world at that particular moment in time.

I suppose there are some people who just know from an early age exactly what kind of career they want. Others are probably influenced by family members and follow on in the same traditions. Then there are those who have no idea what they want to do and try several options until they find something they like. More just just drift into something by chance and decide to stick with it.

I’ve often thought about career guidance and how effective it is. There was definitely none available for me in my time and maybe not a lot has changed because there was very little available for my own children either.

According to a study in the U.K. nearly half a million university students believed they had chosen the wrong course to study. One in three told researchers that knowing what they now know about university they would have chosen a different course.

One of the reasons students cite for their dissatisfaction is that they were not given enough information about their course before they signed on for it saying the information they received was vague or misleading.

I remember a young lad telling me one time that he was unhappy with his business course that he was doing in UCC. He said that he was surprised that there was so much maths involved.

Research by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) highlighted a need for better support for guidance counsellors in supplying information on the range of careers available.

Career guidance is a very individual thing and usually doesn’t work in a group. There is no point in the whole class learning about what it is like to be a Garda if most of the students are not interested in it. It needs to be one on one if it’s to be done properly.

On a more positive note, the report also showed that the happiest students are those studying medicine and dentistry, where only 14 per cent consider swapping courses. This would suggest that the majority of dentists are happy with their choice of profession and actually go on to enjoy their work.

This is very good news for us because I would much rather expose my mouth to a happy dentist than face an unhappy one who is out to seek revenge on the world because he took the wrong course.