Dr. O’Reilly should have been a member of the NFL instead of the American Dental Association.

I was in the first grade and I swear that man played football in my mouth. With cleats, pads and a helmet. Petrified, I tried refusing to go back, but my mother made me get my first cavity filled.

They scheduled me again, but I skipped the next appointment. Being a latch-key child, I was on my own from the end of the school day until Mom came home from work. I never told her. That was the end of my relationship with the terrifying Dr. O’Reilly.

It took a few years before I needed to see a dentist again. Biannual teeth cleaning wasn’t a thing for children back in those unenlightened days. For my mother and me, dentistry was a crisis-only budget breaker.

I think I was in third grade when I needed to see a dentist again. Dr. Brickell was kind. Gentle. At a later visit he asked me if I knew what hypnosis was. I had only heard the word and never thought of it in a medical setting. He explained the procedure to me, but said that he needed to talk to my mother. I imagine he explained the hypnosis process to her in much greater detail and got her permission. And he offered my dental care for the favor.

Dr. Brickell was still involved with his medical school in Boston where he taught clinical hypnosis. Hypnosis in the clinical setting was considered experimental. Although it was beginning to receive some attention, it took years for hypnosis to be accepted by mainstream medicine. Dr. Brickell was beginning his trials in 1951. A little research has informed me that the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis was founded in 1957. In the decades since, certified hypnotherapists have been creating physical comfort and less anxiety for patients in almost every medical discipline.

Doc did some testing with me to see if I was a good candidate. He was in the process of forming a control group of ten children for testing. I remember his telling me that if I were hypnotized, I would not feel any pain during his work in my mouth. But better, the fear would go away after the first treatment. “You will be so comfortable you won’t ever have to be afraid again.”

Just recently, I heard an article on National Public Radio about hypnosis which stated that while only about 15% of adults are considered viable for clinical hypnotherapy, more than 80% of children are good candidates. Children have few pre-conceived notions about new experiences.

Clinical hypnosis is not the staged parlor trick where some subjects are hypnotized, given post-hypnotic suggestions to squat, flap, and quack like a duck. There’s no danger of making a fool of oneself to entertain. This is the real deal.

I was so grateful, to no longer spend time dreading the trip to the dentist’s chair. No more clenching my fists and curling my toes the whole time my mouth was open.

The hypnosis began with Dr. Brickell’s soothing voice talking about relaxation. He was good with kids’ vocabulary. Quietly, Doc made me comfortable, then informed me calmy what he would be doing and what I would feel … or not feel. After the first few times of his suggestions, I was able to go under more quickly. I remember being contented. Happy. He did not give me any post-hypnotic suggestions.

I remember his talking about letting my mouth get dry… and somehow my saliva stopped flowing at its usual rate. The hypnosis actually controlled it! The same thing happened when he had to dig out a stubborn first-tooth molar. His hypnotic suggestion reduced the blood flow!

I was not aware that I had any control over it, but obviously his “experiment” was working. I was a very willing 10-year-old guinea pig. The process became easier with each later visit.

This continued for the next seven years – until I graduated from high school. I never knew pain in Dr. Brickell’s chair. I was only recently reminded of those years by the NPR broadcast and was pretty delighted to realize the progress that has been made in alleviating pain and fear.

Fortunately for me, my present-day experience at the dentist is also painless, but in a totally different way. My doc is so skilled with that thin little needle that I never see it coming. And the contents of that syringe? Let’s just say that modern pharmacology is a wonderful thing.

Oh, and there’s no blocking, tackling or kicking going on between my incisors and canines. That era is history. Phew!

Marcy O’Brien can be reached at Moby.32@hotmail.com