Ask Dr. Bernard: Why did you become an orthodontist?

It was the middle of the dark ages. I was 13 and my mother did not like my front teeth which were spaced and sticking out a bit.

The closest orthodontist was in downtown Cleveland; an hour and a bus transfer away. He was at least 80 years old and was on the 10th floor of an inner-city high rise. He used metal rings on all my teeth, which he fitted over the teeth by “driving” them on with a mallet and chisel. I’ll never forget the chisel slipping off the band just as he swung the mallet, this puncturing the roof of my mouth.

After each appointment, I would run for the elevator which would deliver me to the drug store on the first floor. My drug of choice was a chocolate ice cream soda which temporarily relieved the tightening of the heavy, steel wires until the bus delivered me home for some Bayer aspirin.

My decision to be an orthodontist was not fostered during my treatment years. Dentistry was the furthest thing from my mind as a teen. But 15 years after my brace experience, I decided to become an orthodontist because of the young people whose lives I could positively affect with the resultant healthy, happy smile.