Managing a phobic dental patient requires a practitioner to think fast, but one dentist’s ultimate solution was entirely unorthodox.
A terrified man sat shaking in the operational chair. The moment the female dentist picked up a syringe to numb his mouth, he went into a full panic. “No way! No needles! I have a massive phobia!”
Patiently, she set it down and reached for the nitrous oxide tank.
“Stop!” the man gasped, batting it away. “I can’t do the gas thing. The mere thought of a mask makes me feel completely suffocated!”
The dentist sighed, reviewing her options. “Alright. Do you have any objection to taking a simple pill?”
“None at all,” the patient replied, instantly catching his breath. “Pills are perfectly fine.”
She walked to the medicine cabinet, returned, and handed him a small blue tablet. “Here, swallow this Viagra.”
The man blinked in amazement. “Wow! I had no idea Viagra worked as a localized painkiller!”
The dentist picked up her heavy extraction pliers and smiled.
“It doesn’t,” she shrugged. “But it’s going to give you something firm to hold onto while I pull this tooth.”
