When I first lived on Bequia dentists were a rarity. Once in a while a dentist would venture across the channel, by which time most people required an extraction due to lack of dental care. Mac had a root canal done by a visiting dentist and it got badly infected. He swore that the dentist had been drunk! I don’t know whether or not that was true but Mac, having no access to antibiotics, was in pain for a long time.
By the time the children were old enough to see a dentist the situation in the country had improved, and I made an appointment for them to see Dr. Lewis on the Mainland for their very first dental check-up. A trip to town was a huge occasion for the girls, or any Bequia child for that matter, crossing the channel back then was a big deal! Getting dressed up for a visit to the dentist made them feel very grown up I am sure, and knowing they would be rewarded with one of those disgusting wharf snow cones added to the excitement.
Dr. Lewis’s office was located on Front Street across from the Cobblestone Inn. We mounted the steps and entered his waiting room, at which point Rachel started to shake. For some reason the smell of the Dentist’s office reminded her of the Casualty Clinic on Bequia, a place she associated with terror and pain. The previous year she had been struck by the Cable and Wireless truck, and the hysterics she had displayed as the Doctor tried to examine her started to manifest themselves in Dr. Lewis’s waiting room.
Vanessa went in for her check-up first while I tried to calm Rachel. When not screaming and kicking she would curl up in a fetal position on the bench and refuse to be comforted. Sigh. Vanessa emerged from the dentist’s lair after her examination full of smiles, it was now Rachel’s turn. Dr. Lewis was a nice man but Rachel cowered away from him, clinging to me with all her strength. I managed to get Rachel into the dentist’s chair, but as soon as Dr. Lewis came close with his gloved hands she started screaming. The Doctor finally gave up, Rachel was far too upset and frightened, and he suggested waiting until she was older for her first dental examination.
Months later, while visiting my parents in Muskoka, I told them about Rachel’s first trip to the dentist. My Dad suggested taking her to a dentist in Ontario, he had recently been for a check-up in the near-by town of Gravenhurst and said the young dentist was wonderful. Well, nothing ventured nothing gained! I made an appointment for Rachel and crossed my fingers.
The dentist in Gravenhurst had a great waiting room, it was filled with toys for children to play with and had a friendly, relaxed atmosphere. Rachel, stiffening at the medicinal smells, looked like she was going to give a repeat performance of her first dental appointment. While my father distracted her I spoke to the dentist and his assistant privately. I explained how Rachel had reacted with Dr. Lewis, and they told me not to worry, they were used to children being frightened. Hah! They hadn’t seen Rachel in action yet!
When it was Rachel’s turn to see the dentist we got her into the chair, but as soon as the dentist approached with his gloved hands she started to scream. The kind fellow said, “Rachel, would you like me to take off my gloves?”, and was answered by a tiny voice whispering, “Yes please!” The dentist removed his gloves and proceeded to examine a totally co-operative and docile child. Rachel hadn’t been afraid of the doctor on Bequia, the dentist on the mainland or the dentist in Gravenhurst – she had been afraid of their gloves!
That dentist in Gravenhurst deserved a medal. He certainly got our business for many years and I have never forgotten his kindness nor his wisdom. Just for Rachel he always removed his gloves, what a NICE man!
She had a wonderful experience compared to mine. We had to go to the Kingstown clinic and sit on a bench outside the dental office upstairs the old annexe before it burnt down. The Kingstown clinic was downstairs and so was the pharmacy same place as it is today. However through the door you would hear the screams and the children coming ourt holding their jaw in pain, screaming. Dr Ellis was in the room. You would hear shouts open your “god darn mouth “ your breath is bad. Adults and children alike came from that room in agony. I developed such a fear of dentist that I declined to tell my mother that I had a huge hole in a tooth, until one Friday we had soup and in biting the dumpling, air was compressed in the cavity, the nerve was activated and the pain was horrendous . Suffice it to say I did not finish my pigtail soup. My mother wisked me away to the dentist thy very afternoon to have it removed. In later years I went to Dr. Gatherer and my colleague Dr. Parsons was very good as I explained to him my childhood trauma. He being a villagers was aware of Dr. Ellis who lived in the same village. I fell and broke my front tooth as a teenager and never went to the dentist. That broken tooth was evident as soon as I opened my mouth. I got it capped by a friend I met in London during my medical school days called Peter Dyer who was a dentist being trained to become a doctor. One Saturday morning I went to his office, he put some magic stuff on my gums then injected it and placed my crown mould then I went back to have the crown fitted a week after. I felt nothing. I still have that crown today but I also have my fear of the dentist. I would break out into a sweat and my heart would race. So much so that I fall behind with my checks regularly.
Not wonderful experiences for sure! I now go to Dr. Simone France, she’s wonderful. State of the art equipment and gentle, it’s a lot different from days gone by!