On today's episode of "As The Drill Turns"- Working for Dr. "Sylvia Plath".

I work for a doctor who has some issues. We all do, right? I know I do; but I try to keep my out-of-body experiences out of the workplace. I am happy to have a job; however, when the person that I work for tells me that she had an out-of-body experience in the operatory, and that was why she yelled at me in front of the patient, I do begin to worry about job security. Then the following week she proceeds to explain things away by saying that her psychiatrist said that she just "wasn't herself" and that she really can't be drinking so much with her medication. I DO adore Sylvia Plath, but I don't know that I could've worked for her.

Scary Story #1: the case against going to sleep.

From 1986-87 I worked for a group of oral surgeons (who shall remain nameless). I LOVED the job. The girls  I worked with were great; and the work had a lot of variety so one didn't become bored easily. However, nothing is perfect and there was a surgeon in the practice who was a bit of a monster. Back in the day, assistants didn't wear gloves...only doctors; it was before the information about AIDS was fully understood and we were just then getting immunized for HEP B. Sooo...whenever we worked with Dr. ?? we would be careful not to get in his way. You see, Dr. ?? was quite often in a bad mood. His mood affected his work demeanor and how he was to the patients AND staff. Well, if your hand or finger (with which we retracted) was in the way...he would say: "You're in the way!!!!" and, then he would give your hand or finger a whack with the surgical bur/drill while it was going!! We all had gouges on us! If I knew then what I know now, I would have headed straight to an attorney's office the first time it happened; or, maybe the second time to prove that it was a pattern of behavior rather than an accident. Nevertheless, he had issues. Case in point against going to sleep in the doctors office is Miss P., who was a minister. She was very friendly; a really nice lady. Miss P. had 13 teeth on her upper arch. She needed to have 8 teeth extracted and a partial would be made to go with the remaining 5. Miss P. wanted to have general anesthesia; she wanted to go to sleep for her surgery. All was well, we put her to sleep and Dr. ?? started popping out teeth; every last one of them on her upper, including the 5 that were fine. He then realized his error and proceeded to panic. Myself and one other girl were assisting ( there were always two ass'ts.: one to suction and one to hold the patient's head.). Dr.?? began saying:"Oh my God, this wasn't a full upper, I pulled 5 too many teeth. OMG...I'm going to lose my license. (All the while he was fishing through the teeth that he pulled, picking out the ones that didn't belong.) OMG, OMG. You two cannot tell anyone about this!! I'll fire you if you do!! NO ONE!! Do you understand?? Oh no. Well, I've got to put these back in her mouth. I'l just push them back in and suture around them. Maybe they'll stay. You do NOT say anything about this. UNDERSTAND??"   So, he sutured the teeth back into place and sent her home. The next week at her post-op visit to have her stitched removed, Dr.?? told her that the remaining teeth were also loose and needed to come out, and that she would need a full upper denture instead of a partial...The other assistant and myself DID tell the head assistant. We had to. She said not to worry and that she would handle it. Well, Dr.?? knew that he could trust the other assistant who was a rather meek girl; me he wasn't so sure about. He did everything in his power to torture me for the next month. Finally, I decided to leave the practice...as I told the girls and Dr. F.(the Dr. who was head of personnel) there is a line that you don't cross over if you have integrity. I was standing at that line. If I stayed in that practice I would be compromising my morals; if I left I would just need to find another job and count it as "lesson learned".....I did not cross over that line. I have always been angry with Dr.?? for his actions, and for causing me to leave a job that I loved. You know how they say "What goes around, comes around" ? Well, A few years later Dr.?? retired. He and his wife set sail in the Caribbean on a boat that they'd bought for their retirement. Two months into his retirement and while on this boat, Dr.?? dropped dead of a massive heart attack. What can I say to that but, "Oh well"; and, be careful when going to sleep at your oral surgeon or dental office!!

All dentists are crazy; and, their hands are in your mouth!! Beware!!

Little does the public know about how insane dentists are. This is not from a disgruntled worker, either. It is from someone who has been in the business for 25+ years and has come across all kinds in that time. Dentists, for the most part, are certifiable. I, as a dental assistant, have had my hands whacked with a surgical bur/drill while working with an oral surgeon who felt that he had the right to do so if he was pissed-off. I have had blood from an alcoholic patient's mouth coughed onto my face and made to continue working covered in this biological material until we were finished with the surgery; I have been told that I "don't walk right." Dentists are ca-razy!! This is just the tip of the chairside iceberg and I will tell stories that will hopefully amuse, but also educate. The public should know that the people who have their hands in their mouths are not wound that tightly, and proceed accordingly!!