Flashback Friday # 25 ~ Dentists

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What are your dental memories of childhood?

That was the big question Linda poised for us this week (to see others or if you want to join in with fun of writing up your experiences, please click on the icon to the right).
My answers sort of fit the question, so here goes:

What are your dental memories of childhood? Who pulled your baby teeth and how was it done - with a tissue, string, or other method? Was it a traumatic experience or no big deal? Did you have to have any teeth pulled by the dentist? Did the tooth fairy visit your house? If so, how much did you get for each tooth and how long did that last? How old were you at your first dental visit? Did you go regularly? Did you have any/many cavities as a child? Was dental hygiene taught in school? Was flossing a big deal when you were growing up? Did you have braces and, if so, for how long? Did you have to wear rubber bands, head/neck gear or other additional "accessories"? Did you need braces but your parents couldn't afford them? Have you had braces as an adult? Do you have any fond/funny//traumatic memories of old relatives or friends and their false teeth?

I remember pulling my own teeth. I would wiggle and wiggle them until they were so loose I could just lift them out. I remember other kids in school using string, with one end tied to the tooth and the other on a door knob. I think that one of our teachers tried this with some of the kids.

My dad always said he would get his pliers and pull them. I now tell my own grandkids that. I have a pair of bent needle nosed pliers that seem to be made to pull teeth.

After the tooth was out I would show it off and then put it under my pillow. At first the tooth fairy passed out nickels at our house. Gradually it went up, ending a quarter for the molars. Actually I think it went up because of the decline of buying power in our currency. Yes, that was happening way back then. But the postage stayed at three cents for first class and a penny for a postcard.

I did not wear braces nor did my sister. My teeth are poorly situated and today a parent would have had braces for them. I don't know how my sister Lois's were but she had hers all pulled out when she was thirty. Now she is on her second set of false.

I still have all of mine except for five. I my get implants for those. The trouble is most of my other teeth are bad and probably many have been filled for the last time. So where could it stop. I could have a full set of implants except for the newness of them and not knowing how they would fare when I get old.

I don't remember any of my aunts, uncles, or grandparents with false teeth when I was growing up. I do remember that my grandpa's were brown at the bottoms and way worn down. That was because of what the chewing tobacco did for his teeth.

A couple of incidents copied from two previous blogs. To read the entire you can click on this label, dentist.

First:
I was eating some Boston Baked Bean Candy and a part of my tooth broke off. That was the only time I went to the dentist until I was in college and caught trench mouth.

We were riding in the car, my parents, sister Lois, and me. If the car was a 1938 Ford it was during the War. If that wasn't it then it was in our 1949 Ford and I was in high school. My sister thinks it was the former.

My feeling was that I was preteen which would make me in grade school and the car would be the '38.After that I pretty much swore off eating Boston Baked Bean Candy. Boston Baked Beans were hard chocolate candy coated peanuts. They weren't covered with soft chocolate like the modern chocolate covered peanuts or raisins. I've been told they are softer now.

For a while I had thought they were covered soy beans but now I am convinced it had to have been peanuts. Dad really liked them and just a lot of times when we went to town (a thirty minute drive) we had some.

Second:
My first root canal was done by an Army dentist, way back in the 50s.

The root canal hasn't given my any problems but the tooth had. The part he put in fell out many times. Finally dentistry began using a glue that made it stick permanently, so far.

The tooth was also loose at the roots. For several years I have been able to wiggle it. My current dentist would pull it but I wouldn't let him. Wait till it falls out or becomes infected was my order.

But that tooth is gone now. Early this summer I had it pulled along with two others with the prospect of replacing them with implants. There needed to be some gum buildup so bone grafting was in order. I think things are about ready now for me to get those new ones.