Where Everybody Knows Your Name

  I can remember my mother holding my hand and walking to the dentist with me.  For years, I had a huge crush on my dentist.  He knew me by name and the first thing he always asked me was, "Well, are you married yet?"  Granted, speaking to an elementary school student like that might be deemed a bit unprofessional nowadays, even scary, but I loved it.  He made me feel comfortable, at ease, and special.  To a little girl who felt unattractive because of a somewhat crooked diastema (an open space between the upper front teeth - upper incisors), a visit to the dentist meant a day of feeling pretty.  He even had a tray of adjustable toy rings for me to choose from if I was a good patient (which I always was).  But as I got older, I realized, kids can be very cruel to those that are different.  I was teased often.  And though I begged my parents for braces to fix my sad smile, I knew good enough would have to do.  We had little money for such extravagances.  In high school literature class, while studying the gap toothed wife of Bath from the Canterbury tales, heads automatically turned in my direction.  I was the crooked gap toothed woman.  

  Eventually, I joined the Army, and if there is one thing the Army enforces, its regular visits to their dentists.  For years, I saw a different dentist every six months.  That is until one day, in January 1990, on the rifle range in Korea, an empty shell casing shot back to hit this particular left handed firer right in the mouth.  It loosened my front tooth and forced me to the dentist in advance of my regular six month cleaning appointment.  A dentist by the name of Dr. Houston spoke to me like the one from my childhood.  He made me feel special, and because of that, I trusted him to practice on me.  He closed my gap with a new procedure called bonding and gave me something I never had before, a real reason to smile.  

  In the Army, changes of station are common.  Before long, I left Korea for Fort Huachuca, Arizona.  Within a couple of weeks, I was in the middle of Operation Desert Storm.  Just prior to another deployment (to Mogadishu, Somalia), I developed a slight stain on my bonding, a stain which forced the dentist there to literally scrape away most of the bonding work Dr. Houston had done.  I was in my own personal hell.  I covered my mouth with my hand whenever I spoke.  

  But then I heard Dr. Houston had also been assigned to the same base.  He was appalled at what had been done.  Within hours of him finding out, I had an appointment to fix the bonding.  I cried.  I was so happy, I nearly hugged him.  That was 1993.  I've had several dentists since then, but none I treasured as much as Dr. Houston.

  That is, until now.  These days, my whole family goes to Dr. Eric Vasey in Woodbridge.  When you walk into the office, you literally feel like you are visiting friends.  Its like that cheers song, you know?  "Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came."  

  I can look back and remember some pretty horrible experiences with my teeth, but I know they are in the past now.  I never have to dread or even fear a visit to my dentist.  I hear there are people in the world who have such a fear of dentists, they request something called sedation dentistry.  They actually let you sleep through the entire appointment.  I don't get it.  Why would anyone want to sleep through a dentist appointment?  I love going to my dentist.  Its always a good experience.  We chat about the kids and what they are up to.  We joke about one day becoming "long in the tooth".  Of course, this is all between intervals of scraping, cleaning, and examining, but still...it doesn't hurt and I know its all worth it...to keep my teeth and gums healthy, to keep my smile.  And you know what?  I really like my smile.   

  Its been a long time since those walks to the neighborhood dentist, but I don't miss it.  Maybe, its because, at Dr. Vasey's, I don't just feel like a patient.  I feel like part of a family.  Now, all I have to worry about is brushing, flossing, and marking my calendar for the next visit.  See you soon.