A lost profession: the school dentist. Once or twice a year, the dentist’s van would park in the school yard and the whole school would be a mess. You went there with lead in your shoes. Cavities were still filled without anesthesia and teeth pulled without mercy. Only when health care improved did the school dentist disappear from the scene. Plus readers remember this from the school dentist.
The van
1. “The van came twice. The first time was not so bad, then everyone had to come and they only checked whether you had anything or not. The second time was terrible, because when your name was called, you knew for sure that there would be drilling…” (Danyell Onbehauen-Frigge)
2. “Terrible…I can still hear the door of the Volkswagen van slamming shut…like you ended up in jail!” (Els Bill)
3. “I hid in the toilet and didn’t come out until the bell rang and school was out.” (Dienie Harmelink)
4. “Happy when the school dentist bus left the girls’ school on its way to the boys’ school. We could breathe a sigh of relief again.” (Ellen Caris)
The nerves
5. “When that bus came into the schoolyard, you felt a tsunami of stress and nerves go through the school. It was more of a classmate mood that made you terrified to get on that bus. ‘Do you have a wobbly tooth? Would you pull it out yourself. , because otherwise he will do it with very thick pliers.” (Janita Lanenga)
6. “I’m 69 now and I still feel like I did then. Waiting for you to be called, with sweat in my hands and a stone in my stomach. At that moment I’m a child again.” (Mieke Klein Entink)
7. “I knew the whole alphabet by heart. Once they got to the R I couldn’t learn anymore.” (Chiquita Rozema)
Photo: ishistory.nl
The pain!
8. “I refused to open my mouth. And then what did the dentist do? He took a wooden ladle, put it in my mouth and turned it over. The result was a large tear in my lip and corner of my mouth. It even had to be stitched turn into.” (Joke Borst van Aachen)
9. “Drilling and filling without anesthesia.” (Karen Cox-Women)
10. “He picked out the fillings that had been placed by a real dentist. Luckily I didn’t have to anymore.” (Mattie Nannings)
11. “My first filling without anesthetic as a 6-year-old. Moreover, they always came in the week that it was my birthday. Didn’t dare treat them to sweets in case the door opened and the names were read out to come along.” (Angela Van Elk)
12. “If you didn’t open your mouth wide enough, the clamp followed. Then there was always a piece of your cheek in between.” (Gerda Bruintjes de Vries)
13. “I think he was called ‘bear biter’.” (Flora Verschoor)
Lifelong trauma
14. “My life has been panicked for the dentist. I still dream about it. You saw that bus coming (such a big American one) and then those black snakes were rolled out. Panic!”(Willem van Dyke)
15. “Trauma for life. Not a single kind word, sitting next to the chair with two other children until it was your turn. ‘Escaped’ children in the schoolyard. Great sadness and incomprehension. Never worked out again.“ (Annemieke Bruins)
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