The "A la Mode Dentist" Story

It was an ordinary day. I had just returned from the dentist. Never looked forward to it until a few years ago when I started going to my wife's dentist, Dr. Rowen. Old school dentist who had an office in downtown Lancaster across from what used to be the YMCA on Orange St. My visits now are always an adventure. You enter on the first floor and go up a narrow stairwell and are greeted by a very large ornate door. Really neat. Gold leaf lettering on the frosted door that said Dr. Robert Rowen, DDS. Enter and you are in his office. HIS OFFICE. Never saw anyone working in the office but him. He did everything. Gave appointments, did the cleaning of the the teeth and performed all the necessary procedures. In his waiting room was an outdoor swing set for children to play on while they waited. Not fastened to the floor so children would make the posts raise from the floor as they would swing. He calls my name. I enter one of his two exam rooms and sit in the ancient chair. This room is used for exams, filling cavities and removing teeth, while the other room was used to take xrays when necessary. Nice view from the second floor windows of the parking garage across the street where the YMCA used to stand. Windows in the room must have been five feet tall since the ceilings were at least 12 feet tall. Sitting next to me on the floor was about the only fairly modern device in his office. A unit that supplied water into a cup and a bowl you could spit into. Wasn't quite sure how many germs hung out in it, but it always worked. Tended to squirt you with water when he filled the cup. Dr. Rowen was right-handed so he stood next to my right shoulder. Behind him, to my right, was his trusty red Sears tool cabinet. The kind that mechanics use for their tools. The kind that the top would open to display his tools or he could pull out drawers if he needed another utensil. He kept all his drills in the drawers. Behind me as I sat in the chair was a small table that held a unit that he would mix his silver fillings. But, the most impressive part of his practice was the aluminum pie plate that he would use to gather together all the tools he thought he would need for your appointment. He sat it on the round glass shelf that was connected to his light that he could maneuver over you for the exam. He would use the tools from the pie plate and return them to the plate when he was finished using them. And, the pie plate looked like it had been used for at least a couple of years. You got a full dental treatment a la mode. And ........ it was cheap! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.