Monday, June 16, 2008

I caught this show on BBC America after taking care of Annie this morning. I laughed when I saw the title in the info box on the TV, but then stopped to watch in horror as a girl in her mid-twenties vomited in fear on her way to the dentist.

There is an epidemic of poor teeth in Britain. 1 in 5 people never visit the dentist. 1 in 10 is terrified of the dentist chair. Sugar consumption, eating disorders, and bad diet make Britain’s global reputation for being a nation of terrible teeth completely justified.

All might not be lost. Three of Britain’s top dentists have agreed to take on these four cases and see if they can do anything to save their terrible teeth.

The dentist tending to the terrified girl, who had not been to the dentist in more than 10 years, was fantastic. He was patient when she didn’t want to even sit in the chair. Instead, he took a quick, tender look into her nasty mouth while she cowered on a chair in the corner of the room. He gently used the mirror to just look at her teeth and when she scrambled away, he stepped back to give her space.

This same dentist saw the girl’s brother, too. His teeth were in worse shape and he ultimately needed 9 teeth pulled, with root canals and crowns on the rest.

Their mother was with them. What I want to know is why didn’t Mum take them to the dentist - make them go - when they were still children in her care. The state of their teeth was horrendous. And the show was fascinating.