I never liked going to the dentist. You could say that a cleaning and a root canal procedure, to me, are the same thing. But I know where my trauma about going to the dentist began. My first dentist’s appointment was in day care. It was a class trip to the dentist.

I started kindergarten at four years old and turned five later that September, so, I was young. As far as I knew, dentists pulled all your teeth out. Before we even went, I was crying. So the whole class went in, came out of the dentist’s office, smiling, and with a lollipop. I was still in the doctor’s waiting room, crying.

The dentist comes out of his office, looks at me in the waiting room, and the first thing he says is, “Aren’t you Myrtle and Wilson’s little boy?” Through my crying, I said, “Yes.”

He walked over to me and told me to open my mouth. He looked in my mouth, put his thumb in my mouth, and popped out one of my baby teeth that was loose. He then looked at me, gave me a dollar, and said, “I am a friend of the Tooth Fairy,” and walked away.

That’s traumatic to a little kid.

In the military, the dentist is totally different. They put you in the chair and they do everything that they think you could possibly need for your first three years in the military. Teeth pulled, root canal, I think I had sixteen needles in my mouth over the course of that one day. But, the good thing is that you get out of going to boot camp training for the next day and a half. So that was fun.

But last week, I got over my fear of going to the dentist. (Well, I wouldn’t use the word “fear,” it’s just that I’d rather do almost anything else.) This time, though, they used gas on me for the first time. That was fun!

I think that gas could be used in different situations. It could be, like, a little pocket-sized device. If you’re dealing with someone at work or with the family - wait a minute, I just need a shot of gas just to deal with you a little better.

I think a lot of the fears and hang-ups that adults have do go back to their childhood. I’m sure a lot of therapists would say that. But I was lucky enough to know where mine came from, and now I’m proud to say I’m over it.

But I did get that dentist back one time. I saw him while I was out walking with my wife in Stamford, and I pointed to him and said, “That’s the dentist that made me not like dentistry!” So I felt better after a while. Now I’ve moved on, love their gas.

So, everybody, I’m glad we’re on the other side of last year. I hope that everybody else can look back at the traumas of their childhood and get a good laugh out of it now that we’re adults.

Love your comments, and look forward to talking to everybody next month. ...Oh, no, it’s Valentine’s Day next month!

- Kevin S. Nash

Photo details: Harcum College’s Kid’s Dental Sealant Day, Bryn Mawr, PA, January 2014