Stealth Dentistry

After I treat a patient, I always show them a mirror so they can see what things look like.
If it's something in the front teeth, they always remark with a smile, "Wow, I can't even see what you did!"
"Smile with confidence!", I say, "The more you smile, the better advertisement for us!"
If it's something in the back, they still always remark with their mouth wide open, "Wow, I can't even see what you did!"
"Stealth dentistry! That's why we do here. No one needs to know what's going on with your teeth", I say. "If people can tell, that's not good. Everything needs to blend in."

This blog post is about a different type of stealth dentistry. It should actually be called "Competitive Dentistry". Having 2 kids less than a year apart, my 2 sometimes get as competitive as this set of brother and sister do.  Ain't nothin' like a little sibling competition!

As always, for your reading pleasure!

Shhhh…. Secret Dentistry

My last patient yesterday was a 12 year old little girl. She and her brother have been coming to my office since they were 7 and 8 years old. They are always in competition with each other. Who gets better grades in school? Who plays better tennis? Who runs faster? Who plays better piano? 

Two years ago, their whole family came in and I had to tell their father that Brother had a cavity, Sister was smiling and saying, “Ha, ha! My teeth are better than yours!”

Today, I found a cavity on Sister’s tooth. “Oh no! I’ve never had a cavity before! Are you sure?” she asked me.

“Yes, I’m sure. “ I showed her an enlarged picture of the tooth with my camera on my computer screen. Having the cavity look so large on my computer made it unmistakable.

“Don’t tell Brother I have a cavity! He will laugh at me!” she made me promise.

“Yes, I don’t talk about your teeth in front of your brother,” I promised her.

With the white fillings, they look so natural that no one can tell what was done.  After I finished filling her tooth, I moved her seat up and handed her the mirror.

“Wow! I can’t even see what you did!” she said surprised.

I told Sister, “No one will know you have a filling on that tooth except for the 3 people in this room. Me, my assistant and you!”

“Good!” she said and made me promise again not to tell Brother.

I promised one more time.

As she was leaving, I said, “I made a mistake, there WILL be one person in your family who will know you had this filling.”

“Who?” Sister asked, worried.

“Your dad. Because he will be the one paying for your filling!”

“That’s OK, as long it’s not my brother!” she said with a smile and left my room with her ponytail bouncing along.