TL;DR, if you have anxiety about dentists, if you don't have anxiety about dentists and need to…read morefind one in the greater Portland ME area? Call Dr Jean-Paul Boudreau's office.
Ah, the 1970s. A time when men were men, women were women, and velour bell bottomed suits were a thing people actually left the house wearing without even a hint of irony.
Unfortunately for young me, the 70s were also a time when it was considered perfectly appropriate for dentists to be absolutely terrifying to kids, and border on abuse. The first dentist I had as a child in Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood was right along Center Street, and nearly everyone I knew would see him, and every single kid who did see him would burst into tears at the thought of having to go, or even the mention of his name. Not exaggerating here, this dentist would do nothing to alleviate children's anxiety, and in fact would seem to go out of his way to make things WORSE.
Frankly I could go on for hours about how horrible the dentist visit were when I was a kid. From the bitewings he used being made for adult mouths to x-ray, which would lacerate a child's gums, to how he would have one of his dental assistants (literally) kneel on your chest and restrain your head if you cried and got upset. Oh, and when you were done? Know what he'd do?
Give you a lollypop.
No joke. You just came in because you had a cavity that needed filling, your mouth is numb, your face is covered with tears and you're traumatized? Here. Have some fucking sugar.
Needless to say that as an adult, I would rarely go to the dentist. I had issues galore, evident gum problems, but even with good dental insurance I'd only go if there was a major problem (read: Pain). So, when I started having severe pain in my teeth and jaw, I had serious anxiety and put if off for days and days.
Thankfully one of my friends suggested I visit Dr Boudreau. When I got there and we talked, I admitted that it had been years since my last dental visit, and told him about the dentist I'd had as a kid. And know what Dr Boudreau did? He listened. And he acknowledged how horrible that was and how it could be in the past. Talk about a different experience. From there he assessed my teeth, figured out what the issue was (actually a sinus infection that was putting pressure on nerves up around my teeth... who knew that was a thing? Apparently him), and then came up with a plan to deal with the not-inconsiderable amount of plaque under my gums.
That was about 3 years ago, give or take. After numerous visits, and the use of several heavy duty belt sanders to chisel away at the decades of buildup, my gums are today quite happy. Could I do better at flossing? Yes. Yes I could. Old dogs, new tricks, etc etc, and this dog ain't quick to change habits! BUT I no longer have borderline panic attacks at the thought of getting in the chair.
Dr Boudreau's offices are clean, well lit, and man does he have some high tech toys!! I mean granted, when I was a kid the average dentist's office looked like something out of an H. R. Giger illustration. They'd take an x-ray, and this fucking massive swing arm device would be laboriously turned your way, they'd have you bite the thing and destroy your gums, put on the lead apron, then the staff would yell "FIRE IN THE HOLE" and dive into a lead lined bunker. Frankly I'm amazed I don't have an arm growing out of my neck. ANYway, Dr Boudreau's office has these wicked cool portable x-ray things that look like a nifty prop out of Battlestar Galactica. In fact everything is far more cool and high tech than anything I'd seen previously. And when he does a filling? Scoops in some sort of stinky goo, shapes it, then takes a little Sonic Screwdriver looking thing and goes "BOOP... BOOP", and that's it. Filling is done. Well, I mean after the novocaine and the drilling, of course.
Fucking technology, man. I love it.
Everyone I've met who works with Dr Boudreau are also great. Professional, friendly, really easy to talk to, and I have to admit, going to the dentist's office is now an almost pleasurable experience. I mean, as long as you don't mind someone taking a metal hook and going "scrape scrape scrape" to your face. But "pleasurable" as opposed to "horrifying and traumatic". So yeah. I'll take it. But they're all great.
If you need a dentist? Go see him. If you're also Gen-X and used to the horrors of dentists in the 70s and 80s in particular.
