littledentist8110
Junior member
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2008
- Messages
- 2
I had just turned 16 years old, and I had just had a root canal on a back molar. I needed a crown preparation. I had met the new dentist at the consultation a week earlier. She was a pretty blonde with icy blue eyes, porcelan skin, and a sweet, lilting voice that had an eerie calming effect on me. Her disposition was sweet and she was clearly very intelligent.
Dr. Rogers had graduated from dental school just a few months before, and at 26 years old, she was very young. However, her professionalism and natural talent were far beyond her years. She was also very warm hearted, and her sparkling personality and great sense of humor endeared her to me immediately. At the consultation, she told me that a crown prep usually takes about 45 minutes.
Two hours into the crown prep, we were getting nowhere. We discovered that the endodontist who did my root canal had left almost no tooth left for the dentist to restore. She was struggling to keep my mouth dry, and the far distal location of the tooth made it nearly impossible for her to work on it. An hour later, with three hours elapsed and almost nothing accomplished, she set down her tools and burst into tears.
But while I was lying there, and she was crying her beautiful blue eyes out, I started to see her differently. Instead of the confident, in-control professional that most of us see in her dentist, I saw a human. A young woman, just ten years older than me, who was tired and scared and felt like a failure. When I reached out to take her hand, it felt small and fragile. She was a person, not some evil witch intent on causing me pain. I felt really connected to her. After about five minutes, she was able to collect herself and finish the procedure. It took a total of four and a half hours.
At the follow-up visit, Dr. Rogers and I joked around about how horrible the procedure was, and she promised the follow-up wouldn't take five hours. She also apologized for crying in front of me. I explained that it made me respect her more, not less, because it was good for me to see her as a human. She smiled, and noticed what was on the radio. She said, "Oh, I love this song!"
"Me too."
So we started talking about bands and tv shows, and we liked nearly all the same ones. She has nightmares about needles, loves to cook, and thinks Dr. Phil is possibly the worst show on television, just like me.
Somehow we ended up talking about dentistry, and the way she described it, it sounded pretty cool. She clearly gets paid really well, but that wasn't what I was all that interested in. She gets every other Friday off, never works weekends, has a relatively stress-free schedule, doesn't have to deal with guts or excessive amount of blood, and she works with really cool people. And the scrubs... not only do they feel like pajamas, but they hide a lot of weight, and they look good on everyone. I decided to look into it.
The idea grew on me, and a few months later, I had made my decision. I was going to be a dentist. When I told her about it, she was ecstatic and so proud of me. My life has changed a lot, and I'm so much more motivated to work hard and get good grades so I can go to the Medical University of South Carolina, just like Dr. Rogers. In 2019, I'll be Dr. Howell.
But for now, I'm a happy Sophomore in high school, who loves going to the dentist's office, and has a great relationship with her dentist.
So that's my story of how I went from dental phobic to future dentist. I guess all it took was the right dentist.
Dr. Rogers had graduated from dental school just a few months before, and at 26 years old, she was very young. However, her professionalism and natural talent were far beyond her years. She was also very warm hearted, and her sparkling personality and great sense of humor endeared her to me immediately. At the consultation, she told me that a crown prep usually takes about 45 minutes.
Two hours into the crown prep, we were getting nowhere. We discovered that the endodontist who did my root canal had left almost no tooth left for the dentist to restore. She was struggling to keep my mouth dry, and the far distal location of the tooth made it nearly impossible for her to work on it. An hour later, with three hours elapsed and almost nothing accomplished, she set down her tools and burst into tears.
But while I was lying there, and she was crying her beautiful blue eyes out, I started to see her differently. Instead of the confident, in-control professional that most of us see in her dentist, I saw a human. A young woman, just ten years older than me, who was tired and scared and felt like a failure. When I reached out to take her hand, it felt small and fragile. She was a person, not some evil witch intent on causing me pain. I felt really connected to her. After about five minutes, she was able to collect herself and finish the procedure. It took a total of four and a half hours.
At the follow-up visit, Dr. Rogers and I joked around about how horrible the procedure was, and she promised the follow-up wouldn't take five hours. She also apologized for crying in front of me. I explained that it made me respect her more, not less, because it was good for me to see her as a human. She smiled, and noticed what was on the radio. She said, "Oh, I love this song!"
"Me too."
So we started talking about bands and tv shows, and we liked nearly all the same ones. She has nightmares about needles, loves to cook, and thinks Dr. Phil is possibly the worst show on television, just like me.
Somehow we ended up talking about dentistry, and the way she described it, it sounded pretty cool. She clearly gets paid really well, but that wasn't what I was all that interested in. She gets every other Friday off, never works weekends, has a relatively stress-free schedule, doesn't have to deal with guts or excessive amount of blood, and she works with really cool people. And the scrubs... not only do they feel like pajamas, but they hide a lot of weight, and they look good on everyone. I decided to look into it.
The idea grew on me, and a few months later, I had made my decision. I was going to be a dentist. When I told her about it, she was ecstatic and so proud of me. My life has changed a lot, and I'm so much more motivated to work hard and get good grades so I can go to the Medical University of South Carolina, just like Dr. Rogers. In 2019, I'll be Dr. Howell.
But for now, I'm a happy Sophomore in high school, who loves going to the dentist's office, and has a great relationship with her dentist.
So that's my story of how I went from dental phobic to future dentist. I guess all it took was the right dentist.
Last edited:
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- it's a great choice and I have no doubt that you will get great grades and eventually make a great dentist. Make sure you join some forums which are open to dental students, such as the Internet Dental Forum.
!!
I especially liked the part "I guess all it took was the right dentist". I also find this to be very true! 
