Great British Dentistry

Have you noticed that when it comes to UK supermarkets, BBC television series, and Boden, the adjective and descriptor "British" just isn't enough? Instead, everything has to be the "Great British": the Great British Bakeoff, Great British Pork Mince, Great British Fairisle Jumper, Great British Spotty Socks. Brits, how about feeling so confident that the "Great" is implied in the "British"? I hate American chest beating and flag wrapping, but the insistence on "Great British" makes the term "Freedom Fries" seem harmless. Nor can I imagine an American fashion catalogue as shamelessly patriotic as Boden - and I like Boden.

All of this somehow, incongruously, brings me to British dentistry, which, Dear Reader, we all know has been the butt of a few jokes along the way. (Sorry, Great British Dear Reader.) All quite simply because, well, I went to the dentist today. I felt somewhat fearful beforehand, as I don't particularly enjoy going to the dentist in the first place. But there was something extra daunting - brazen, even, if I may say so - about going to a British dentist. Add to that the confusion about whether to go to a dentist accepting NHS patients or not - I opted for not, after perusing a few online reviews. Anyway, in the end it was fine. Nice dentist, nice hygienist, slightly chiding of my personal dental care (in a reassuring way) without actually reaching the point of scolding or shaming, some X-rays but not too many, seemingly thorough but hardly painful. And unlike my American dentist, did not feel the need to tell me that what I thought was my overbite is actually a "jet." Or, that if perfectly white teeth could be graded an "A," mine were certainly a "G" or an "H."

I did experience a few neurotic moments imagining the dentist thinking some of the misanthropic thoughts shared by the protagonist dentist in Joshua Ferris's To Rise Again at a Decent Hour, but other than that it was perfectly fine - and quite possibly preferable to a visit to my old dentist in New York. So, see you again in six months.