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Country Roads Column for week of July 27, 2026
Seventy years ago many Iowa elementary classrooms displayed bright yellow cards appropriately called "dental cards." The cards bore the signatures of dentists confirming that the student named thereon had visited said dentist and the condition of his or her teeth was duly approved.
Most years the Huisman kids did not have a dental card pinned to the wall. Our parents took their six children to the dentist when the need arose but preventative dental care was not in the family budget.
The first dentist visit I can remember occurred when I was 8 years old. I had been experiencing toothaches so my mother took me to Dr. Jacobsen, who was a kind and friendly gentleman. The University of Iowa Dental College class photo on his wall indicated he had graduated in 1918.
Dr. Jacobsen was a gentle dentist. When an 8-year-old with a low pain threshold moaned and whined enough, the dentist applied dental cloves to the tooth and told him to return in a week. I figured that out early on.
After Dr. Jacobsen retired, I saw another dentist for some fillings but the good doctor could not get the Novocain to do its job. Drilling was done without the benefit of numbing, a fact that discouraged me from future dental visits.
In my early 20s I experienced a powerfully painful toothache. I didn't know what was worse ̶ a toothache or an extraction without the benefit of numbing. The toothache persisted and my young wife encouraged me to seek the services of her childhood family dentist.
This dentist, I learned, had been a military dentist during World War II. I didn't know if that was encouraging or not. My wife made a late afternoon appointment for me. The dentist injected anesthetic and, marvelously, in a few minutes my jaw was numb. With military efficiency this dentist removed the aching tooth.
Knowing it was possible to have dental work done without pain I eventually began seeing a dentist regularly.
Some 40 years ago a wisdom tooth demanded extraction which our family dentist undertook in his office. The procedure took well over two hours and the dentist told me if he had known how stubborn that tooth was he would have sent me to an oral surgeon.
Now, in the summer of 2026, we see an excellent family dentist just a half mile from our home. Dr. Graham discovered I had a tooth with a broken root which necessitated an extraction which, in turn, necessitated an appointment with an oral surgeon.
Over the past 25 years I have seen the same oral surgeon three times. This time around I discovered he had retired and an appointment was made with a new oral surgeon. While I appreciate the fact that I don't have to step on a scale at an oral surgeon's office I did not look forward to the extraction. A little bit of that 8-year-old boy still lives.
Dentistry today is essentially pain-free but I don't like the sound of a tooth being twisted and pulled from my jawbone. In addition, the sound of the high-speed drill when the root is being "amputated" is unnerving.
The new oral surgeon is a personable young woman who was every bit as capable as the previous surgeon. I felt virtually no pain but the sound of the tooth coming out was nerve wracking. This doctor must have identified that 8-year-old boy because she spoke calmly and soothingly through the entire procedure.
A little more than an hour after the process began I was on my way home with instructions to eat soft, cool food the rest of the day. My dear wife served me a large dish of ice cream for lunch.
There's nothing like age to remind a guy that the set of permanent teeth provided in younger years has to last a lifetime. Though my choppers could have benefited from orthodonture 65 years ago, they do a good job of what they are there for and I visit my family dentist regularly in an attempt to keep them. I did not like losing this tooth but fortunately it was far enough back its absence is not readily noticeable.
That 8-year-old boy has a streak of vanity.
(Arvid Huisman can be contacted at huismaniowa@gmail.com. ©2026 by Huisman Communications.)