COMMENTARY | Going to the dentist is a common fear. Web MD puts the number of people who avoid going due to anxiety or fear at between 9 and 20 percent. Among the reasons people cite for their irrational fear are pain, helplessness and loss of control. If you’re among those people who are already terrified of the dentist, you might want to stop reading now. The following information may enhance those fears.
An AP story released today explains that Michael Clair, a former dentist, has pleaded guilty in a Massachusetts court to a number of charges that included fraud, illegally prescribing drugs, witness intimidation, and assault and battery.
One of the charges against the dentist was that he allegedly used paper clips during root canals. WCVB-TV Boston interviewed one former patient — a 20-year-old who went for treatment and is still in pain five years later. The man still has that paper clip in his mouth and is waiting to find out whether it can be removed. Clair is no longer licensed to practice dentistry anywhere.
Apparently, the use of paper clips is sometimes an acceptable temporary dental solution, according to Attorney General Martha Coakley. It was using one as a permanent fix and then charging patients for stainless steel posts that led in part to the dentist’s legal troubles.
Even so, to those of us who are even remotely plagued by dentistry fears, paper clip dentistry sounds barbaric. And according to Medscape Reference, there have been bronze wire root canal fillings found in skulls dating back to 200 BCE. It sounds way too similar for comfort.
For those of us who were already a little leery of dental appointments in the first place, this now adds a whole new world of concern. All I know for sure is that if there’s a paper clip anywhere in the office at my next check-up, the staff is likely to witness a panic attack.