I used to have nightmares that my teeth were falling out of my mouth. Then I would wake up, rush to the mirror, and count my teeth. I would say to myself, “Yup, all still there. I guess that perio patient is still on my mind.” I haven’t had that nightmare in a while. Maybe because after two decades of practising dentistry, I am no longer affected by my patients’ problems. Crying kids no longer make me emotional. Nervous patients don’t make me anxious. Teeth falling out means fewer teeth for me to take out. Have I become heartless?
I was volunteering at a free dental clinic, and the assistant told me that my next patient is very nervous and is crying in the chair. “Just another anxious patient,” I said to myself. I went in, sat in front of her, put my hand on hers and told her I am here to listen, nothing else. She told me her story. Her husband was injured and stopped working. She quit her job to care for him. Her medical problems started from the stress of caring for him and not having enough money for food. She stopped looking after herself. She stopped going out. She stopped caring until… a tooth fell out of her mouth. She couldn’t believe it.
She looked in the mirror for the first time in a long time. She didn’t recognize the woman staring back at her. She wiggled her teeth. They were all loose. “Oh no! I am going to lose all of my teeth.” She needed her teeth extracted and dentures. Her reality was my nightmare.
After being so nervous at the first appointment, I was surprised that she returned. I was also surprised to see how calm she was. Her blood pressure was normal, and she was comfortable throughout all the extractions. I couldn’t figure out why she was so emotional that first appointment and not now.
I looked down at all her extracted teeth spread on the counter in a row. A woman younger than me had her smile on the table instead of in her mouth. It took my breath away. I put my hand on her shoulder and said, “I know how hard it is going to be for you to go home and look in the mirror and see that you have no teeth. But we will make your dentures, and you will have a beautiful smile.” I started crying, and so did she. That’s when it hit me. She was crying at that first appointment, not because she was scared or ashamed, but because she was so beaten down by life she didn’t think she deserved to smile. “You are so kind,” she said with tears and a big smile.
After all those years of doing dentistry with crying kids and anxious patients, it took that patient to make me realize that the most important thing we can do for our patients is not to make them smile but to make them feel they deserve to smile.
About the Author
Dr. Sanjukta Mohanta is a general dentist who graduated from the University of Toronto in 1999. She practices in Brampton, Ontario. She can be reached by email: sanjuktamohanta@hotmail.com
