listed in an eight and one half by eleven inch telephone book. Each page contains four rows of approximately forty dentists per row. Large advertisements have been excluded from the page count and only single lines containing the names, addresses and telephone numbers have been included. Whether a perceived over abundance of dentists is significant to current prevalent absurd and insane dental practices is unknown to me. Perhaps there is another reason for many dentists, at least in this area of my residence.
Beginning as a young child, x rays were always part of the initial dental examination. In the early years, these x rays were taken without chest protection. In later years a lead apron was placed over the chest area for protection from radiation. Usually after the initial examination, mother was informed that I had several cavities that needed to be attended to. As a young girl and upon arriving home, I would look in the mirror to find these cavities. Usually I could only view one or two brown spots on the teeth in my mouth. I would then complain to mother that I could only see one or two possible cavities where the dentist had stated that there were several. Mother would explain that the x rays are finding cavities that I cannot see with the naked eye. Later, and as a teenager I would be told on occasion that I had two, three, or four cavities in one tooth. I found this very hard to believe but the repair work was accomplished. Sometimes after leaving the dentist’s office, I felt extremely disoriented and confused and recovery from this experience seemed to take several days or weeks before I hopefully regained my full focus and intellect. I also gradually began to realize that the biannual cleaning of teeth may have actually resulted in the removal of important tooth enamel due to the use of a grinding machine and another sharp instrument thus perhaps resulting in a greater number of cavities. By the age of nineteen, most of my back molars were completely covered with silver colored fillings. At this age, I began to suffer from headaches that apparently were due to three impacted wisdom teeth which were removed by an oral surgeon. Also at about this age, I had some root canal accomplished on a few teeth. The dentist I attended recommended that these “dead” teeth be capped. I postponed these capping procedures until I was in my middle thirties. After moving to Florida in 1995, I sought out a dentist through an apparent prestigious dental network organization. The dentist I selected was within close proximity to our home. During an initial visit, I was aghast when I viewed the x ray machine. This machine resembled a deep sea diving helmet that was completely placed over one’s head. Needless to say, I experienced trepidation with this new machine. After the technician took the x rays, I heard loud exclamations in Spanish emanating from the x ray analysis room. Inquiring as to what was transpiring, the technician informed me that the x rays would have to be retaken as nothing could be discerned. I exclaimed that I had received enough radiation for one day and excused myself from this office, never to return. Later, and while still living in Florida, I made an appointment with another dentist who I was initially very satisfied with. The dentist capped one “dead” tooth in my mouth by first filing down the tooth and then crafting a temporary cap while impressions made were sent elsewhere for the sculpting of a permanent cap that would fit precisely with my other teeth. This cap was installed in my mouth approximately two weeks later. After about a year however, I noticed a general deterioration of the office and noted some unsanitary conditions so I ceased to attend this dentist. Asking for a dentist recommendation from an acquaintance, I scheduled an appointment with the recommended dentist.