True confessions of an overzealous dentist

True confessions of an overzealous dentist

How to fix an obsessive compulsion about teeth.

Being a dentist has very negative connotations – pain, discomfort, intimidating, expensive, etc. People always tell me that they don’t want to see me and I know it’s nothing personal.

I understand it completely. We major in minors looking at our working area the size of an 🍎. A lot can be revealed about the human body condition just by looking into the mouth.

The job fits me just fine though sometimes it is a back-breaking job, no pun intended. But I may have carried the love of dentistry too far into my home.

You would expect a dentist’s family members to have perfect dental health right? Wrong. They are far from ideal. I have myself to blame for being overzealous.

For decades, my parting shot in the evening to my spouse was “ Dear, have you brushed your teeth”? It was a good reminder in the beginning, but after many years, I realized that I have morphed into a form of a nagger and the purpose of my question had worn off.

Sometimes, I was compelled to mention this very important statement of my life and his eyes would just roll up.

I thought I could alert my kids into being concerned about their teeth. I would tell them about the consequences of bad teeth which could impact their appearance, function, speech, and esteem. It would have worked if I had stopped at maybe a few times.

Now they are actually afraid to see the dentist and not forthcoming as patients.

The overzealous dentist in me would attach images on our family WhatsApp for maximum effect. until my husband hollered, “ Stop sending ugly images of teeth! You are killing our appetites”!

Notwithstanding that it was done with a noble intention. Because I really want to promote healthy teeth.

One day, my son said to me,” Mum, you are such a boring conversationalist. All you talked about is teeth. My friend could talk to his mother for hours. “

I know. My friends made friends with their children, tried to get to know their friends. When their…