Running Away

When I was in kindergarten, there were over 85 kids in our class, and it took two teachers and some aids to keep us all corralled and in line.   The room was extremely large to hold all of us and even had a full-size playhouse in the middle of the classroom.  

The bathrooms were on the other end of the long two-story school house.   We had to line up, cross our arms, place a finger on our lips, then walk through the playground following a yellow line painted on the pavement.  Yep, no grass on the playground!   

Since I had yet to be fitted with a hearing aid, it was quite boring for me to sit the half day not knowing what was going on.  Boring! So one day I snuck out of the classroom, went to the playhouse and then slipped out the door. 

With my arms crossed and a finger on my lips I followed the dotted yellow line all the way to the other end of school to the bathrooms, then out the gate and on to the street. 

Shortly, after the commotion began, I could see the mass of people looking for me, so I hid in the bushes and was terrified that I would be in a great amount of trouble.  Eventually an upper class man found me and escorted me back to the other end of the school.  My clandestine adventure had come to an end, and though I was scared of being in trouble, I was lucky to have people come to my rescue and bring me back to safety.

Fast forward to today; we search out for those patients that are afraid of dentistry and bring them back to safety.   We help them improve their oral health and fix their smiles so that they won’t be embarrassed.  We never scold them for being afraid, but rather offer them emotional assurance so they are not “running away.”