Carla and I have had such an exciting week (no). Yesterday, for instance, we went to the dentist and the library AND the thrift store (to drop off donations, not to look for anything fun), and then we waited for someone from the security company to arrive (he came an hour early) and for someone from the roofing company to arrive (he came an hour and twenty minutes late).
But the dentist visit and the library visit, at least, gave me a chance to indulge in a little nostalgia.
Carla, by the way, is so much better about the dentist than she used to be. It was once a source of tremendous anxiety. I can empathize with this, because I too get extremely anxious when I go to the dentist. (Sidebar: I recently was having some tooth pain that was severe enough I was afraid I would need another root canal. And my biggest fear about seeking treatment was not the root canal itself, but the fear of enduring the cold test that they use to diagnose the issue. That was the worst pain I have ever endured, and I was shaking and teary just thinking about the possibility of facing it again. I wondered if I could just… get a root canal without the diagnostic test [probably not]. Anyway, the happy but also deeply disturbing outcome was that I somehow had a piece of aluminum foil stuck in between my teeth that was causing the pain. Once I figured that out, the pain miraculously evaporated. I can figure out how to avoid the cold test another time, huzzah.) The hygienist used to have to wheedle and finagle Carla into doing anything. Brushing her teeth with the weird gritty polish was always A Process that involved lots of negotiation and Mean Mommy Voice. She actively and vehemently resisted the fluoride application, thrashing around and refusing to open her mouth. Our hygienist really got a workout, back in those days.
But! Now Carla is very nonchalant about the whole thing. I asked her in the car if she wanted me to walk her through what to expect, and she said yes. Then she decided in advance which kind of tooth polish she would prefer (grape, or mint) (she ended up choosing cookie dough; gag me). Then I told her that if fluoride was an option, we were going to do it. She still hates the fluoride.
The thing is, fluoride treatment is so infinitely better than it used to be! She has it so easy! The hygienist gets out a teeny little tub of fluoride (seriously, there must be 1/2 teaspoon in there IF THAT) (and each tiny tub costs $40 out of pocket; our dental insurance – which we are extremely lucky to have, I know! – only covers one fluoride treatment a year, even though our dentist recommends it every six months) and paints it on her teeth and she’s good to go! The only restriction is she can’t drink hot liquids for an hour. That’s it!
When I was a kid, the fluoride treatment was a nightmare. The hygienist gave me a teeny cup full of caustic red liquid and I had to put ALL of it into my mouth and swish it around for a full minute. A full minute is like a million years when you are six or ten or however old I was! And the hygienist always cautioned me to not swallow any. I am a rule follower and also a catastrophizer, so I imagined that swallowing even a teeny amount would kill me. I hated it so much!
There was a fluoride innovation at some point in my youth. Instead of the swishing liquid, my hygienist started carrying a fluoride foam. She would put the foam into the channels of a two-sided flimsy foam U, and I had to bite down on the U so that my teeth would be submerged in foam. Then I had to hold it there, not swallowing for a full minute. This was slightly better because the foam was sweet instead of caustic. But the foam would get all over my face, and by the end of the minute it would be dripping down my chin. Plus, once again I was afraid that even swallowing a teeny amount would result in my immediate death.
Fluoride treatments were the worst! And my parents had no sympathy for me, just as I have no sympathy for Carla. Because I know how it used to be.
(I mean, I have a little sympathy for her. I know it’s bitter and sticky and annoying. But I’m not going to let her skip it, as she pleads for me to do every six months.)
After the dentist, we went to the library. There was a mesh box on a desk in the kids’ section with three monarch caterpillars in various stages of development in it, and another mesh box on a separate table with a real-live chrysalis in it. Next to the second box was a display of books about bugs and butterflies.
Libraries are AWESOME. I just love that the librarians, or someone high up in the library admin, think about how to engage young minds and make learning fun and interesting.
Libraries, in my experience, are a whole lot better than they used to be. And to be fair, my library was the only one in my entire hometown, and my hometown was at least half an hour away from any other town. Where I live now, we have dozens of libraries that are nearby and easy to access. I patronize three regularly. (We are going to have a NEW library and NEW library system when we move, and my husband and I took Carla to check out the library early on in our house hunt to make sure that it was acceptable. Also, we looked into whether we could keep our existing library cards – yes – because we adore our library system.)
There are special displays set up by the librarians – book club picks, books on rotating themes (gardening, DIY, cooking international recipes), books about whatever holiday is coming up, books by famous authors who have recently celebrated a birthday, received an award, or passed away. There are rows and rows of computers. There are glass-walled rooms furnished with tables and computer hookups that you can reserve online for your homework session or writing group. There are innumerable classes you can take and activities you can attend – all for free. The librarians are friendly and knowledgeable and you (Carla) can ask them for recommendations fitting very specific criteria and they will walk you through the stacks and pull out multiple options and reserve several more for you online. You can pre-order books and come inside to pick them up or get them through the drive-up window. There are always crafts you can take home and reading contests you can participate in.
When I was kid, you had to whisper in the library. If you didn’t, you would suffer the wrath of the librarian. The librarian was also deeply disapproving of the number of books I checked out each week – although perhaps, in hindsight, my lack of proper book transportation device may have been the subject of her disapproval. I tended to leave with a teetering stack of books in my bare hands.
My local library took up both floors of a two-story building. It had stacks of books. It had a space for reading periodicals. It had an elevator. You could look things up in the card catalog, and you could research old periodicals on the microfiche machine. There may have been a computer or three. It had a lot to offer. But I don’t remember special displays or targeted groupings of books, or librarians who smiled and told you about monarchs. I do remember that if you read a certain number of books, you could win a free pizza from Pizza Hut… but I think that was a program run through my elementary school, and not the library. (Ah, yes. It was called Book It! and it is still active today!)
(Another sidebar: I wonder if my love for things like pizza and tacos originated with school reward systems? In addition to Book It!, there were frequently pizza parties we could win for various things that have escaped my memory. The pizza party part was the important part, not whatever it was we had to do to earn it. In high school, people on the honor roll got to go to lunch early, and on Fridays we had Pizza Hut pizza. I loved being one of the very first kids in line to get the pizza while it was hot and the cheese was melty. YUM. But even better than pizza: We could get a free taco for every A on our report card. Is there any better incentive? NOT FOR ME THERE ISN’T. My mom saved all my report cards in my baby book and it tickles me to see the little stamps from the taco place on each A to indicate I’d collected my free tacos.)
I’m not saying that Today’s World is perfect; I know it has deep and terrifying flaws. But in lots of ways, big and tiny, important and inconsequential, my kid has it really, really good. I try not to “back in my day” her very often, but some things are much better these days. Although I do feel bad that she doesn’t get free pizza and tacos in exchange for her grades.
Do you remember fluoride treatments from when you were a kid? Did you have any food-based rewards systems when you were growing up? What is something that makes you think kids these days have it a lot easier than you did?
I remember BOTH of those flouride treatments. I really hated the foam bite plate especially. Ugh. I always felt like I was going to throw up. I hadn’t thought about that experience for years. And the X-rays are also so much better now. You can bite down on a small thing; when I was a kid it was those hard plastic butterfly inserts that would dig into my gums so badly. X-rays were my least favourite part of going to the dentist.
It’s astonishing I have zero issue with the dentist (other than I HATE paying for it – so expensive!) as an adult, because I had a lot of issues when I was a kid. Most of my bottom baby teeth weren’t falling out properly, so I had to have them pulled and as a kid that was NOT fun. They weren’t even wiggly and it was pretty traumatizing. But I feel zero dread going to the dentist now, even when I have work coming up (for example, in March I got a wisdom tooth removed and had zero anxiety going in). I’m not sure how I manage this after my childhood?
I am very impressed that the dentist doesn’t upset you, especially after having teeth pulled! I had to have four or six (I can’t remember) teeth pulled as a kid and it traumatized me for sure.
UG! I remember the bite plate, which I hated! In fact, I hated everything about the dentist when I was a kid. My parents loved our dentist, but I remember him as the devil, as he would not numb me all the way before filling cavities and I would tell him that it was hurting and he would basically (in my memories) treat me like I was just being a baby child and tell me to shut up (I am sure he was not that mean really). I also hated x-rays as the films were huge (in my mind). They are definitely way better now!!
I still am not a fan of the dentist and if it were possible to just be put under every time, I would prefer that. I know that is not practical, but I just want to wake up and everything is all done and I don’t have half my face falling off from the Novocain! Luckily (KNOCK ON WOOD) I have not had a cavity in YEARS so I have not had to endure anything too difficult. I don’t mind the cleanings (which also by the way have gotten better — my dentist now uses a mini power washer thingy rather than scraping for hours with that metal stick)!
I hate the bite plate! It’s so uncomfortable for me as I have a small mouth.
I am with you about wanting to be put under ALL the time. And yes — the innovations in teeth cleaning are awesome!!!
That’s funny, I’m older than you but I only remember the u-shaped thing full of fluoride. Did you ever have to do the toothbrushing test where you after you brush, you chew on a tablet and it shows you all the places you missed? We did that at school, not the dentist.
I still have trouble with x-ray bite plates because my mouth is small.
When I was looking for pictures, there were a bunch of articles about how public schools used to offer the fluoride “swish” IN SCHOOL. What?!?! I can’t tell if I remember that vaguely and am confusing it with the dentist, or if I just did it at the dentist. But it’s nuts, either way.
Yes, I did those chewable tablets! I had them at home. They were very helpful for encouraging thorough brushing.
I really only remember the foam fluoride treatments – and I remember when we got fluoride in the water, how big a deal that was. There are so many studies that show how beneficial that is particularly for low-income kids without access to dental care. I even remember getting fluoride tablets at the local health centre. The worst thing about the dentist, when I was a kid, was the x-rays, how you would have to bite down on something and it was always sharp and went into your gums. The thought of aluminum foil in my teeth has me shuddering.
The Calgary library system is so good, and I miss it the most of everything here. I mean, I STILL don’t have a library card (although I’m going to try again today, I have two pieces of mail and a passport and if that doesn’t work I’ll just give up until I get my new driver’s license). Libraries are such fun and welcoming places now!
How did the foil even get in my mouth?!?!
Oh, I hope your library card attempt is successful! Why are they being such sticklers?!?!
Oh oh oh and I worked at Pizza Hut in high school and I remember giving out books and such to kids!
Hmmm, I don’t remember any traumatizing fluoride treatments as a kid… maybe because I’m older than you? Was it not a 70s thing? AND is this why I had so many cavities?????
I agree, there are so many things that are better nowadays. My library growing up was in a much more beautiful building than the one we have now- but in terms of services, our current system is incredible. I can go online and with a few clicks, put a book on hold? They’ll transfer it from another library and email me when it’s ready? Not to mention all the free programs- we were regulars at Storytime when my kids were little.
The dentist is infinitely better now… but I think schools are worse : ( Although I guess that depends on where you live.
We did the fluoride treatments at elementary school once a month in the early 90s. We called it “Swish”. It was gross!!!
I’m still traumatized by the cold test too! Absolutely the worst part of a root canal!
“Anyway, the happy but also deeply disturbing outcome was that I somehow had a piece of aluminum foil stuck in between my teeth that was causing the pain” Wait, WHAT?Are…are you chewing on foil? How did that happen?
We did those little fluoride cups in school- also in the early 90s like Jenny in WV, although I’m up in MA. I did the u-trays at the dentist. I absolutely remember the fake flavor and the drooling too!
I don’t remember getting flouride at school, but I remember waiting in line to have a scoliosis and lice check there. Gah. I might have to write about that.
I don’t believe we received any kind of reward for reading. But if I had known a Pizza Hut deep dish was waiting, I would have read more books!
Oh wow I have not thought about flouride treatments since…sometime in the 80s. Dentistry has come a long ways, that’s for sure.
Ah library card catalogs! When I went back to the town where I grew up this spring the libraries were at the top of my list. I barely recognized one of them since the building had been expanded so much. The other was just exactly the same except that there were no card catalogs. I remember when the libraries got computers in the mid 80s. It was magic because you could do inter-library loans and get any book that was available in the library system with the press of a button. Little did I know that in the future I would be able to do that from home and pick up my books in the drive thru line, practically eliminating my need to ever go inside of a library.
I remember the pizza rewards too! It was for my daughters though; I’m way too old for that. :)The fluoride treatments are more modern too. In my day we took a bitter small pill that my grandfather (a dentist) gave us.
You’ve taken me into the past down the path of fluoride treatments. Whenever I think of them I immediately flash to those little trays with the foam in them… and start to gag. They were the worst. I could swish liquid better than deal with those monstrosities. Now we have the little ointment thingie and it’s no big deal. Progress is great.
Dentists in the Soviet Union were scary. I still remember machines that drill your teeth-they had CABLES! *shudders* No fluoride treatments for us. My kids- absolutely. Also have to cough up $37 per kid if more than once a year.
My local library was in a little house, and I loved going there, but I think I’m about ten years older than you, and it was pretty much just…books. And my dad had to come pick me up and tell them it was okay for me to take out adult books. But I could walk there, and we did macrame classes where we pinned our macrame owls to the ends up bookshelves, and that was kind of fun.
Angus had terrible dentist anxiety – like me. Eve not so much.
I don’t remember the red liquid at all. In my mind fluoride has regressed – it used to me just a liquid they would paint on your teeth after they were all clean and smooth, and now it’s like silly string that messes up my teeth.
Do other adults not get fluoride treatments? I have pretty bad periodontal disease and get a cleaning every three months, complete with fluoride treatments. The fluoride tastes really really bad and it makes your teeth all bumpy until you can brush your teeth again. I’m on Carla’s side here – it’s the WORST. And the taste lasts for HOURS.
I love our local library. It’s beautiful and the librarians are so nice. #publiclibrariesrule
Most things dental related don’t bother me; but those darn x-rays are TORTURE for me because my mouth is small.
I loved when we went to the library in grade school. It was a small Catholic school and we didn’t have our own library. So, I remember Sister Susan (my first grade teacher) would lead us down the sidewalk to the library that wasn’t too far from the school.
The library I frequent the most, unfortunately, doesn’t have a drive-thru window. But that just means I get to look at all the interesting displays when I go in.
As I recall, pizza parties were the go-to to incentivize us kids into doing whatever activity.
My kids go to a pediatric dentist and they are sooo good at working with challenging patients. Paul wouldn’t let them clean his teeth until he last appt. Now he handles it pretty well. So I won’t expect Will to get his teeth cleaned for another 2 years. I had forgotten about those fluoride treatments. I can only remember the foam trays of fluoride but ours wasn’t foamy I don’t think? I remember being left with them for quite awhile and the liquid stuff starting to sort of seep into my mouth and saliva would collect and ugh. It was not pleasant! Our kids have it so much better!
And you know from our emails that my town was so small that it didn’t even HAVE a library! I am so glad my kids will have easy access to a library. I would have gone all the time and read soooo many books if I had access to one as a kid!!
Wow, that’s some nostalgia for sure! And yes, libraries are awesome!
Interestingly, I do not recall fluoride treatments at the dentist’s when I was a kid… either it was not a memorable experience or they didn’t do them in Germany? (I should ask my sister who has kids if they get the fluoride treatments).
I hated those teeth treatments as well – I only remember the foam variety and I’m older than you.
I have tried to explain the card catalog to my children. They respond with blank stares. We also have an amazing library. I do remember having to be quiet in the library and how it wasn’t exactly the most inviting space. It’s a wonderful place now and I love the many resources it offers.
UGH, fluoride treatments. I remember those bite plates SO WELL and I hated them so much. They were so gross. I also remember being terrified about swallowing at the dentist, lol. Anxiety twins! The fluoride treatment now is better but I hate how sticky it makes my teeth for hours.
I was definitely a BOOK IT! kid and I remember the magic of a classroom pizza party for meeting a goal. Or an ice cream social! Man, what a time.
I do remember flouride treatments. I also remember my mom having to wrestle me INTO the destist’s office until I was about 10; I hated going there!! Didn’t we have flourinated water back in the day? Maybe cities still do that? (we’re currently on a well system) Was that in case we couldn’t go to the destist? This is hurting my brain right now.
I do not handle kids not liking the dentist in that I just find a different dentist. My parents’ BFFs growing up were dentists, and my biggest takeaway was that it does not have to be scary or terrible ever for any circumstance- even for you as an adult. Period. Like, an x-ray or something should be able to diagnose your issue if you don’t want a painful test, you know? Also, I think card catalogs were better for humans than a digital catalog because you could not ever really avoid using the card catalog to find information because it was RIGHT THERE taking up space, and something about the way the information appears on the card helps reinforce the idea of an information ecosystem and the thing you are looking for’s place within the system n a way that a flat screen of same-looking typeface just DOESN’T.
I am in the camp of “only remember the trays”, so I wonder if those came first? Also, fluoride is a MUST. I did not grow up with it in my water and have horrific teeth. Even my brother – only a year older than me – has better teeth because during his first two years of life, my parents lived in a different state and city where the residents did not think that fluoride was (honest to Pete) a “communist plot”. They still don’t fluoridate the water in the town where I grew up. So, yes, please do make Carla do it, much as she hates it. She will save herself so much pain and frustration in the future. 🙂
My kids had to use the fluoride trays until the last year, when they have instead been offered just to have the gel painted on with a cotton bud, and now everyone is much happier!
I have had 4 root canals and have never had to have the cold test!! Thank goodness, because heat or cold on a dying tooth root is just horrific. Hopefully they’ll never do that to you again!
OH MY GOODNESS! we had swish day once a month when I was in elementary school. I hated swish day because that meant I would have a headache for a day or two from the fluoride. I got to try the foam fluoride at one point too. It triggered my gag reflux and also gave me a headache. I wonder why they stopped doing this in schools. I recently told my daughter that we had to do this in school and she looked at me like I was nuts. I also explained to her that it was like something out of one of those movies with the cart nurse handing out meds in a mental institution. Ugh, just thinking about this and I can smell it.