The Missing Roots

In 1954, while serving in the Army as an ambulance driver
The Army sought volunteers to become a dental assistant
It required taking and passing a 3 month course at Fort Sam Houston
Which seemed to me better than my then current position

Ambulance driving was okay, but not great
It involved spending considerable time imitating a MarineLong hikes, sleeping on the ground, meals cooked in a make-shift kitchen
Generally in the absence of an indoor latrine

So the prospect of what I thought of as an office job had much appeal
So I volunteered and was accepted
And then drove to the training site at Ft. Sam Houston
Located in southern Texas

The training was difficult, but not overwhelming
And things went smoothly along the wayUntil we reached the day of instructionIn how to take and develop a dental x-ray

After a full day of trainingWe were then directed to take a full-mouth x-ray
Of one of our fellow studentsWhich in my case was a young woman, perhaps about eighteen on that day

So I took and developed the x-ray film
And was dismayed to see no roots were shown
Which was an essential missing element to any dentist
Who couldn’t do his job properly unless the condition of the roots was known

Feeling very embarrassed, I approached the instructor
And showed him the images of the teeth without roots
He promptly burst into laughter
Which intensified my idea that I had badly goofed

After regaining his composure he told me the reason
No roots were shown
Was the woman I x-rayed had a complete set of false teeth
A fact which to me was completely unknown

I never suspected the woman I was x-raying
Had lost all her natural teeth in her youth
And was undoubtedly too embarrassed
To reveal to me this dental truth

So the moral of this story is that when you’re looking at someone’s mouth
Or otherwise involved in activities with other people, take a little care
What you think you see may not in fact
Accurately reflect what is there