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.