Who likes the sound a dentist’s drill makes in the mouth? The very thought of a visit to the dentist is enough to cause anxiety in many people. Of course, there are “outs.” Novacain is one. Nitrous oxide is another. Halcion pills, yet another option. All “outs” are devoted to two causes, the elimination of pain and the anxiety associated with a painful experience.
Was I lucky? As a child I had a dentist who convinced me that I did not need any sedation during the drilling. Maybe he was a sadist. I don’t think so. I believe those many years ago that Dr. So-n-So (I have no recollection of his name) truly believed in the process of “mind over matter.” He taught me to relax. He talked incessantly while he drilled, telling one unrelated story after another. It worked. With the exception of getting a root canal, I have never needed any type of sedation in the dentist’s office.
I don’t have his stories stored in memory, but something makes my brain go into a relaxed mode in the dentist’s chair, a place most people dread. My process can be as simple as concentrating on relaxing my hands on the chair's armrests. Do I feel pain? Of course. I haven’t eliminated the pain. It’s still there, but attitude seems to work its magic. I know that the drilling is temporary. I know that the end result is long term tooth health. I also know that I don’t have to feel the prick of the novacain needle nor experience the drowsiness of nitrous oxide. The dentist finishes. I jump up from the chair. The process was not unendurable, and I feel I have conquered a human frailty, at least temporarily with the exception of my one limit: A root canal.
Of course, my experience is not yours. You didn’t have my dentist when you were very young and impressionable. That’s okay. You can make use of the various kinds of sedation the dentist offers. You’re not weak because you use one, just as I am not strong because I don’t. I’ve had decades of practice since the days of my childhood office visits.
But my little anecdote does convey a message. Sometimes the lesser of two seeming evils or hardships isn’t an evil of any kind, though it might be a temporary hardship. Sometimes an apparent “evil” or hardship is just an opportunity to learn who we are by challenging our limits.
Was I lucky? As a child I had a dentist who convinced me that I did not need any sedation during the drilling. Maybe he was a sadist. I don’t think so. I believe those many years ago that Dr. So-n-So (I have no recollection of his name) truly believed in the process of “mind over matter.” He taught me to relax. He talked incessantly while he drilled, telling one unrelated story after another. It worked. With the exception of getting a root canal, I have never needed any type of sedation in the dentist’s office.
I don’t have his stories stored in memory, but something makes my brain go into a relaxed mode in the dentist’s chair, a place most people dread. My process can be as simple as concentrating on relaxing my hands on the chair's armrests. Do I feel pain? Of course. I haven’t eliminated the pain. It’s still there, but attitude seems to work its magic. I know that the drilling is temporary. I know that the end result is long term tooth health. I also know that I don’t have to feel the prick of the novacain needle nor experience the drowsiness of nitrous oxide. The dentist finishes. I jump up from the chair. The process was not unendurable, and I feel I have conquered a human frailty, at least temporarily with the exception of my one limit: A root canal.
Of course, my experience is not yours. You didn’t have my dentist when you were very young and impressionable. That’s okay. You can make use of the various kinds of sedation the dentist offers. You’re not weak because you use one, just as I am not strong because I don’t. I’ve had decades of practice since the days of my childhood office visits.
But my little anecdote does convey a message. Sometimes the lesser of two seeming evils or hardships isn’t an evil of any kind, though it might be a temporary hardship. Sometimes an apparent “evil” or hardship is just an opportunity to learn who we are by challenging our limits.
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