When I was a kid in England in the fifties, the National Health dentists were just taking off in a big way. The idea was that everyone got free dental treatment, and kids at school went to a "school" dentist as a matter of course. Well, since the dentists got paid by the tooth, almost everyone of my grandparents' generation had all their teeth out and false choppers, and an awful lot of us kids hadd fillings we didn't need. (I should say that as I had to have two or three of my milk teeth taken out through toothache, I probably needed some of the fillings!) So, today I have a mouthful of fillings, which need to be replaced at intervals (and no free dentists any more!)

The old equipment they used back then was slow and noisy, and very unpleasant, not to say painful, especially when you're only six or seven years old. I remeber once telling the guy it hurt, and he said nonsense, I was imagining it! Maybe I should have asked him where he had his done, and gone there?

Anyway, the point of all this is, I grip the dentist's chair with whiter knuckles that you'll see on any theme park ride, even though I know it's not going to hurt, and if it does I only have to wave my hand. (This is a good plan, by the way: tell him/her you'll raise your hand when/if it hurts too much.) I try to relax, but all those years of terror have had a deep impression, and I keep tensing up. But the only seriously painful thing is going to be the bill!

Another thing they have now (over here at least) is a mirror, like a driver's mirror, on the big overhead light. One of the things that makes it so scary is that you have no control, you can't speak, and you can't see what's happening. (OK, that's three things) With the mirror, you can "join in" a bit -- and you don't have to look if you don't want to.

And we'll all be thinking of you!

Steve