Thursday, August 11, 1966
THE TAR HEEL
Oil, My Aching Teeth, Gums, Bottom . . .
An Untypical Visit To The Dentist
By RICH NICHOLS
This was not the typical vis
it to the dentist. It lasted 16
hours, spanned two days and,
untypically, was free.
I had volunteered as a pa
tient for my neighbor who
was taking his State Board
Dental examinations.
The State Boards consist of
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EASTGATE SEAFOOD
RESTAURANT
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an exacting four-day practical
and written test given annual
ly by the North Carolina State
Board of Dental Examiners.
All dentists seeking to prac
tice in this State must pass.
I was the practical part of
the exam.
I arrived at the University
Dental School's clinic at 8
a.m. The hugh room, filled
with a tangle of dentist's
chairs, was already buzzing
with the low voices of aspir
ing, perspiring dentists.
They weaved through the
jungle of chairs and at the
head of the band were two
men dressed in white the ex
aminers. Before beginning to operate,
the dentists had their patients'
teeth and X-rays checked
over. Sixty-four dentists wait
ed for 64 patients to get the
okay from two examiners.
After the check, my neigh
bor, normally a jovial fellow,
fidgeted with his drill. No
quips, no slap on the back.
I settled back in the chair.
Then the paper bib, and the
"foot-long" novacain needle.
My neighbor, whose name had
been converted to a number
pinned on his smock, began to
drill just as the cold numb
ness of the novacain seeped
into my gums.
Usually a dentist will drill
out the decay in one or two
efforts, but after just complet
ing four years of dental school
and only the Army waiting if
there's a mistake, the dentist
grinds away bit by little bit.
For two hours I sat, jaws
locked. When the excavation
was nearly completed,- my
friend called on of the men in
white.
"Okie doke," was all the ex
aminer said after the check.
After going downstairs to
extract two teeth from anoth
er patient for the surgery part
of the test, my neighbor re
turned. This time he propped
my mouth open with a rub
ber mask-type gadget. Again
the drill whistled and again
the pick picked and the nar
row mirrored what must have
been a chasm.
A little wad of silver alloy
plugged the cavity. And it was
time for a tomato soup lunch.
After lunch, to my friend's
dismay, he found the tooth to
be prepared for a gold inlay
was much more decayed than
the X-rays revealed. He would
drill a little, wipe the sweat
from his forehead, wash his
hands and go in for another
try.
By now I had endured three
shots of novocain. Not only
were my gums dead, but so
was my nose and part of my
ear. My mouth ached with a
throbby dullness.
My neighbor informed me
the decay was deep, almost
to the pulp of the tooth where
the tiny blood vessels and
nerves are. If he drilled into
that, he said, it might kill the
tooth and things would get a
lot tougher.
"Look, Rick," he said, 'Til
buy you a steak dinner when
this thing is over." Then it
was open wide again.
I was dopey and half-asleep
and certainly wasn't looking
forward to chewing anything
for a while.
The second cavitv finally
drilled, it was time to take a
rubber impression.
The work was over around
5 p.m., but onlv for the dav.
Instead of a gold inlay. I was
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PRESENTS
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"Man In The Moon?'
Carroll Hall 7:30 P.M.
Tuesday 16 August
The Dee Jays Combo
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Wednesday 1 7 August
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Rendezvous Room 8:00-10:00
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sporting a fore mouth, a head
ache and a tooth stuffed with
cofton and cement.
When I cam back two days
later, mv neighbor's eyes were
red (he'd been through two
days of extensive written
tests) and he hadn't eaten. I
hoped that th natron saint of
dentistry would steady his
hand.
The rubber impression of
my tooth had been turned into
a plaster impression, then fill
ed with wax and finally gold.
On what looked like a tooth
pick he held a little replica
of my tooth with a rough gold
inlay nestled in the crevice.
Out came the temporary fill
ing. In went the gold, and out
that came too after a trial fit
ting. Then both of us (my
neighbor and I) went into the
lab. With a drill, he buffed
the inlay until it sparkled. It
felt strange to hear the drill
and not feel it in my mouth.
"Waiting
waiting," is
the rest of the story.
After cementing the gold in
lay into my tooth, my neigh
bor checked with the men in
white. We were something like
30th on the list, since many of
the other dentists had finish
ed at about the same time.
Numb-jawed, I went down
stairs for a pimento cheese
sandwich prepared by. the
"Dental Dames," wives of den
tal students, who seemed to
be taking this whole thing in
stride.
My neighbor, after lunch,
began to pep up a little. Af
ter taking several X-rays, he
sort of plodded around the
room exchanging "rah team"
looks with his cohorts. I was
beginning to detest dentists
even more than is jokingly ex
pected, although I had to ad
mit that my friend had done
a very professional job. Be
sides, now my seat, in addi
tion to my gums, jaw, nose
and ear, was getting achy.
One by one the dentists
packed their instrument chests
and trudged toward the door,
hail-and-farewelling their bud
dies. Three newspapers and a Life
magazine later, the examiner
visited my chair. He stared
at the X-rays of my repaired
tooth . . . picked . . . slippped
a string between the tooth and
gum . . . adjusted the light . . .
"Okie doke," he said.
And that was the State
Boards.
Wednesday Saturday
SUNDAY
NIGHT OF
THE IGUANA
Richard Burton
Ava Gardner
MONDAY
Sim1 BAMKEGQMfSSV't
TUESDAY
Gary, Audrey
Grant Hepburn
ncHNicoior
WEDNESDAY
PAUL
GERALDINE
NEWMAN
RAGE
ON THC HY
BASED
Br TTNNlSSf t
WILUMMS
cimbmascoc ;.:cTnocoi.on .
Pj!j0' V-COtOHtwOElUXE
1 .
ITT.
UBIM "HUMP1. I.I
( (ftarade) i
STANLEY D0NENM.
A -.