The dentist`s secretary called me to remind me of the appointment. I reserved for next Monday at eleven o´clock. I heard the voice on the other office asking for Natalia and I replied. “This is she”. “I`ll be there on time”. That day, I entered the modern eight floor building located on Linares main street, and I walked to the elevator and pushed the up button and nervously waited. The elevator promply arrived and got in. I pushed the third floor button. Once on the third floor, I exited the elevator.Promply, I smelt the characteristic and aromatic smell of my father´s dental office. As soon as I arrived I opened the outer door, and a cool air hit me in the face. I was greeted by Erika his brown haired secretary who told me that I had to wait because the doctor was busy. It was exactly in that moment that I remembered an indelible memory of my father and his first office. When I was a little girl, I ran to sit in the dental chair preventing my father´s patients to sit down in the dental chair. It was very funny for me and some patients saw this as a funny action. My father´s office was one block from Linare´s square. When I left the office , my father took me for a ride around the square during summer time and bought me an ice-cream. This is an old remind of my chilhood. It was a long time ago that those events happened and I returned to reality again. While I was waiting my turn, I got a magazine where I found a story about a thief who lost his denture in a place where he entered to steal. The police sent the denture to the police laboratory and they discovered that the thief was a relative of the house`s owner. To be precise his nephew. I was deeply thinking about the story when the dental assistant called me and I started a new story in the dental chair.
While my father worked he told me he studied six years in the faculty of dentistry. He told me he was interested in the area of biology. He did a lot of biology readings when he was a high-school student at Rome Free Academy in New York state. In this way, his interest was an early great impulse in that direction. There were others reasons why my father decided to study dentistry.
One of the main reasons that contributed in his choice was weather conditions. When my father was a college student, he had to decide between Santiago and Concepcion. He chose to study in Santiago because his P.A.A was of a very good score, and the capital was on his mind long time ago. Weather conditions in Santiago were more acceptable to his health than Concepcion. At that time it was easier to go to Santiago than Concepcion, even by train. Travelling by train was faster and more comfortable.
There is other possible cause, when he attended high-school at Rome Free Academy in New York state, he received a special invitation to attend lectures given by a scientific biology department of New York university. All this helped him to enter university of Chile at dental school where he was accepted.
The third reason my father wanted to be his own employeer. He said as a liberal professional, he could manage his free time. He loves to play soccer, swimming, and ride on a bike... free time is very important.
Most dentists are only practitioner, meaning that they own buy bussinesses, and work alone with a small staff. He had to study about three more years to become a specialist.
Suddenly, the little wheel whizzed around like a buzz saw. Between the sound and the terror of that moment, I had a relevant question that have characterized people day after day, year after year... to be more precise all their lives in all human history. Why don`t people attend dental offices?
People don´t enjoy spending their time to go to the dentist. Maybe the answer could be found in the memory we have of the noisy equipment the dentist used and we associated with scary situations but today`s modern dentistry is founded in comfortable modern equipment and new technologies. There are three main contrasts or differences between today´s and yesterday`s technologies in dentistry world. But people don`t know that the possibilities of getting a perfect smile are related with modern technologies. As we know, today healthcare is possible because technological advance with various modern instruments like x- rays preventing gum disease, loose teeth, and helps on the exact diagnosis that wasn´t possible thirty years ago. Secondly, healthcare in modern times is very different from ancient times because it still has to deal with the same diseases. The philosophy is very different; what has changed the technology allowing the dentist to make because new smiles. A third important aspect, in the past the general dentists had to deal with all diseases affecting the mouth, but today all dentists have to take courses to improve in all dental areas.
I have never thought to have an enjoyable time in a dentist´s chair. It was really interesting to enter the hidden world of the dentists.
All the time my father says that modern dentistry is better because new technologies; new materials, and great advances in science. Every five years dentist has to renew his knowledge, and training in new technologies.
As a dentist my father feels he is working in a complex field of health that gives him great satisfactions. It is very important for him to build a beautiful smile to recover self confidence in a great number of people making them to feel good, and useful in society. My father helps people in dental emergencies and feel better in a psychology aspect. He feels a great satisfaction, because he helps a lot of people suffering because they have lost their teeth when they were young, and they can show a beautiful smile, after receiving their treatment.
I stayed a long time listening to about this wonderful world of modern dentistry. By the end of this dental session, I fell asleep...my father left the office and his secretary gently woke me up to reality...
By Natalia Montesino Bastías
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