My Uncle, the Dentist

In the early 1940’s and mid-1950’s the worst days of my life were visiting my dad’s brother, Uncle Lloyd.  Uncle Lloyd was a dentist and I was scared to death of him.  He was not gentle and his office was dark, gloomy and smelled like antiseptic. 

Things have changed in the practice of dentistry.  Offices are clean and bright and the specialists, the general dentists are friendly and the assistants are cheerful.  They do everything they can to take the scare out of  “going to the dentist”….my grandchildren look forward to seeing their general dentist, and have no fear of the specialists who are also in this office.  They consider themselves products of the “smile generation”….they routinely have their teeth examined and are now in the process of getting braces, with colored bands and and easy retainers.  (many years ago when I needed braces, they were NOT pleasant … luckily Uncle Lloyd was a general dentist or it could have been worse)  
I am not a fan of the colored braces… many times I had to stop myself from telling granddaughter, Jenny, “you’ve got something green caught in your braces”. She has had braces of every color of the rainbow…often a mixture of colors.  Looks weird to me, however, teenagers are a strange breed with minds and ideas of their own.   But having a beautiful smile is well worth it.