PATIENT LETTER

Dr. Wignall,
   I cannot express enough appreciation toward your kindness. That you would take time out of your busy schedule to go over my x-rays and questions over the phone shows what a truly great dentist you are.

   I dreaded going to the dentist before I came to your practice. After my first cleaning from you, I actually looked forward to coming back. You're so patient and painless! Now, my only regret about moving back to Ohio is that I won't have you to clean my teeth!

   I will truly miss you, Rose, and you other staff.

   Thanks again. You will never know how much I appreciate all you've done for me. No other dentist will ever compare to you!

Sincerely,
Amy B.

"Taking a bite out of painful work in the dentist's chair"
CHAPEL HILL HERALD, June 11, 2000
Gerald McElreath, Columnist

. . . When I started working after graduating from UNC I signed up for dental insurance; I suppose just because I could. It was a waste of money unless I actually went to the dentist, so I did.
   And I discovered I was phobic about the dentist. Regular cleaning made me queasy; I nearly fainted again getting a filling.
   I was convinced the dentist was bent on inflicting pain. And there was this sort of accusatory, "If you cleaned your teeth better, this wouldn't hurt so much" along with the scrape, scrape of the wickedly curved and sharp-pointed metal tool against my teeth.
   It's true. My dental hygiene is lacking. I never floss, and I brush just once a day.
   I made no more trips to the dentist for several years, until my wife prevailed by constantly mentioning the money I was wasting on dental insurance if I didn't get my free cleanings. A coworker recommended her dentist as painless. My wife called the dentist (because I refused but told her if she would make the appointment I would go), but that practice wasn't taking any more patients and recommended another dentist to me, a Dr. Stewart P. Wignall in Chapel Hill.
   And he's been a fine dentist. I wouldn't say I like going to the dentist, but I enjoy chatting with the man.
   He's English, and a local example of cross-culturalism (he's got a master's degree in anatomy from Duke but went to dental school at UNC).  . . . Dr. Wignall has gained my trust. During the first attempt to fill that tooth, no matter how much anesthetic he shot into me, I was still wincing with pain when he'd drill. So he stopped drilling. He said maybe the nerve was irritated, and he filled what he had drilled with some kind of numbing plaster.
   He said when I came back in a week he'd try a different kind of anesthetic  . . . 
   And, wow, was I amazed. The dentist actually cared to not hurt me.
   Not to say dentists want to see their patients in pain. I had just never had a dentist stop what he was doing because it was causing pain.
   And in a week or so, during the next attempt at drilling there was no pain and the filling went in without a hitch.
   And I was thankful for the patience it took to stop drilling and wait a week. I was actually looking forward to seeing Dr. Wignall on Friday morning.