Dental fetish formation and seen in 'the big context ...

As an avowed dental and mouth (and anaesthesia) fetishist myself, I would love some people to contribute to the thread on fetishes seen 'in the big context' that can be found in Discussions/The Lounge/The Parlor/On our fetishes - in the big context. 😄

The idea is that you tell others how you think the foundation for your dental fetish was started (very possibly by an experience in your childhood) and emerged as a real fetish later (most likely at puberty). I want to learn more about what fetishes have in common - and about the many variants among fetishes. For that matter, I hope to find out more about whether fetishes differ greatly in different countries, and over time, and what attitudes to them there have been. (The pre-Egyptians put dental fillings in teeth. No anaesthetic, presumably! I wonder if there were dental fetishes even in those days!)

When I first became aware of my mouth fetish, and as a young gay teenager, my fantasies tended to be about either myself or other boys. (Later, my horizons widened a bit, and girls' mouths also started to appeal!) Is that something that others have found? That your fetish parallels your gender preference, and vice versa?!

All ideas about fetishes welcome!

- Ken

When I was a child, I had a dental phobia because of my first dentist, who was very agressive. Afterwards, I changed the dentist and she was strict, but kind(strange combination). I still had enormous phobia and avoided going to the dentist(I'm lucky because I have good teeth). But when I was 15 I changed her to a beautiful and nice young dentist who is still my dentist. Since then I'm not scared before an appoimtment and enjoy every visit.

When I was 7 or 8 I already loved reading about teeth. I remember reading a childrens novel which had a detailed description of a carious tooth. It excited me very much. Afterwards I started watching pictures on dental office websites and youtube videos. I always loved looking into mouths of both sexes, even though male mouths, especially fillings, excite me more than female. And male dentist working on me excites me much more than female.

When I was a child, I had a dental phobia because of my first dentist, who was very agressive. [...] When I was 7 or 8 I already loved reading about teeth. I remember reading a childrens novel which had a detailed description of a carious tooth. It excited me very much. Afterwards I started watching pictures on dental office websites and youtube videos. I always loved looking into mouths of both sexes [...] And male dentist working on me excites me much more than female.

What an informative post, Lena M! I find it very typical of so many fetishes - first some unpleasant experience (mine was getting my tonsils out at age 4, and some 'milk teeth' out at age 7), then a fascination with the topic which might be consolidated by chance events (as when you read that children's novel), then later still, a more fully-fledged fetish and an excitement accompanying it (as when a male dentist is working on your teeth)!

Please, would you care to re-tell your story (use the same words if you like) on that other thread I mentioned: Discussions/The Lounge/The Parlor/On our fetishes - in the big context? I would like it to contain a description or two of a dental fetish!

One small thing that isn't quite clear to me ... Your post says that you eventually found yourself 'a beautiful and nice young dentist who is still my dentist'. I think you mean a male dentist? Is that right? (For my part, I these days prefer a female dentist, as I can more easily imagine that she especially enjoys working on my teeth and seeing inside my open mouth - which I am happy to let her do!)

- Ken

My story also started in the childhood, it was back late 70s/early 80s.

The dentist appointments were a painful experience. Some painful drilling was performed, of cause without any anaesthetic, as it was common this time.

I remember the busy atmosphere in the dental office: I had to sit into the chair, the assistant placed wordless a plasic bib on me and left the room. Then I had to wait for the dentist. I remembered the painful drilling from the previous appointment (I got wet eyes, but I was not crying! - and I was proud of this fact). But therefore, I was extremly nervous.

The dentist came in. He didn't talked very much. And after a short "hello" the drilling started again. This time even more painful than the appointment before. This time, the tears ran over my face, while I was unable to move and the drill worked deeper and deeper into my tooth.

I can remember that I started to hate everything, that possibly remembered me to the dentist office: bibs, rain capes, even padded headphones and hairdressers.

Then, many years later, but still in young years (I was maybe 10yrs old), I met a girl of my age. She told me about her dental treatments, which was very fascinating for me. I guess, she loved to see my excitement and enjoyed to tell me more stories about that. She showed me her new filling and told me, how she was strapped in the chair (don't know, if it was true).

As a teenager, I recognized, that my aversion against dentists turned into a secret fascination. This fascination still exists.

My dental fetish started when I was 6 years old. My mouth was a disaster and I was scared of going to the dentist but my mom forced my to go. The dentist was beautiful and sweet so that comforted my. Now I want to be the dentist and have a female patient.

I think my orthodontic fetish began when I was in 7th grade in 1961. I had a girlfriend at the time who went through the braces routine, which I found to be very fascinating. She had told me she was going to be getting braces which were much more rarely seen in those days. Anyway, some time had passed and I had forgotten about her even mentioning it. At that time, I was wearing a removable upper retainer (from my regular dentist) to draw back my "buck teeth", so I knew something about braces. Anyway, a few weeks later, my friend did not come to school one morning. But shortly after lunch, showed up late in art class and said she had a bad headache and was not feeling well. I asked her what was going on. She said she had spent the entire morning (since 7 AM) having molar bands installed on all 16 of her back teeth but you really couldn't see them unless she opened her mouth really wide. Those teeth were literally wrapped in stainless steel. Some of these molar bands had nasty looking hooks and other attachments which had to be uncomfortable for her. She told me these hooks and notches were for headgear and rubber bands, which she would also have to wear at some point. She said the band fitting appointment was very uncomfortable involving lots of pressure. She told me, the orthodontist even used a small hammer to tap some of the bands into place. Anyway, as time passed she adjusted to all the metal on her back teeth. A few weeks later, she said she was going in to get spacers placed for the remaining teeth. I did not know what that meant at the time, but when she came back from that appointment, she had all these rubber wedgies stuck between all her upper and lower front teeth which she said were "killing" her. She said the spacers were to open up a little space between the teeth so the bands could be more easily placed. The following week, she was to go back and have full, wrap-around bands placed on her remaining teeth. I couldn't imagine the discomfort of having all these bands jammed on ALL her teeth, but that's the way they did it back in 1961. These days, we have super glues where just brackets can be bonded to the front of your teeth. I actually went through the modern bonding orthodontic procedure in the early 1990's but that's another story. Anyway, my friend went back to her orthodontist a week later and missed the entire day of school when she had 12 bands placed on her remaining teeth. Wires were also tied into the bands on both arches. I saw her the next day. She was miserable, but a few days later the pain substantially subsided. She was very open with me and allowed me to see everything up close that was going on in her mouth. It was a wonder she could talk! She wore her braces for about two-and-a-half years. I think it was early in the 10th grade, she had them removed. She certainly had a nice, straight smile, but still had a silver mouth from the retainers she was now wearing. Anyway, time passed and we kind of drifted apart. At the end of my junior year of high school, I was about to move away from the area and ran into her at a nearby shopping center. We chatted a bit when I noticed she was again wearing fully banded braces! This was in 1965, two full years after she had the first ones removed. I asked her "what happened"? She said she had been to see her regular dentist for a routine checkup when he noticed her teeth were shifting. She told me she had lost her retainers and very quickly her teeth "un-sprung" and started to revert back to their original positions. So, she had a second set of bands/braces put on, ALL IN ONE 7-HOUR LONG APPOINTMENT just a few days before I saw her. She was still a bit sore from that marathon event and said she would have to wear them for about a year. I hope she used her retainers after this experience. I never saw her again as I had moved to another state as a result of my father getting transferred in his job. I must say, she did look great with her metal mouth and to this day, I like seeing women with (silver) braces on their teeth.

Until recently I was reluctant to even admit I had a dental fetish. Without a doubt it all stems from an early dental phobia that has plagued me ever since -- I've still not gotten over it -- even though it wasn't nearly as bad as what I've heard from others. Still, it "left a mark" and I've been having to carry it ever since.

I don't remember exactly how old I was -- probably about 7 or 8 -- and I had to have two cavities filled for the very first time. I was terrified, although I don't entirely know why since I didn't really know what was coming, not really. All I knew was that until now, all of my dentist visits consisted of: 1) Get in the chair, 2) Get some x-rays, 3) Have my teeth cleaned by the dental hygienist, and 4) Get a quick once-over from the dentist -- we'll call him Dr. Bob -- who was nice enough, yet still scared me. It was as if I knew that I only had to deal with him when there was something wrong, so the best thing to happen (which it always did) was for him to pop in, poke around, and then make some little comments like "Welp, looks like we don't have to yank any this time!". He meant well -- he had no idea that every time I heard that phrase I felt fear deep to my bones... Yank them? Dear Lord, please don't ever let anyone yank them! Then came that fateful day where he popped in, looked at the x-rays, poked around, and instead said something to the hygienist like, "...mark 4, crown...mark 9, back..." or some such. And then, "Looks like we've got a couple of cavities!" and my world felt like it closed in on me.

Fast forward to ... the day. I must've talked about being afraid to my Mom who said something to the dentist, because he did try to put me at ease before walking in. See, before me apparently was a girl a little older than me who he had just finished up on. He walked her out with her mom giving them instructions, and her face looked swollen and she had a big white bandage wrapped around her face, holding her jaw closed. After she left, he says to me, "Did you hear Katie in there? I had to yank 4 of her teeth, and she was giggling the whole time from the laughing gas!" No, I didn't hear her giggling. I took his word for it, but mostly I remembered that big white bandage around her face, and the phrase "had to yank 4 of her teeth", but I hoped that gas would help. Spoiler: it didn't.

[cont]

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Next thing I know I'm in the chair, mask on my nose where I kept trying to fall asleep hoping maybe I'd miss the whole event -- but they kept waking me up and saying how I had to stay awake and keep my eyes open. Great, just what I wanted, not only to be aware of everything but to watch it as it happens. For what it's worth, neither that time nor any other time do I remember the gas having any effect at all. None. I always hoped, but either i was too scared for it to break me out of my focus, or I just have a high tolerance to nitrous oxide, I just don't know.

"All right, let's take a quick look here, open up for me..." says Dr. Bob. Then he does that thing with the dental mirror and hiding the shot so you don't see it, and gets me in the top left side of my mouth. It surprised and, therefore, scared me, but it wasn't actually too bad. A little stinging, then numb, then done. Maybe this whole thing would be fine, I thought, no big deal! Everyone tells me how good I was, so brave, yada, yada, yada, and I actually started feeling a little better. Unfortunately, the next part is what I remember the most.

[cont]

[cont]

This time, he adjusts the chair a little higher and more upright. He rolls his chair closer to me and used the fingers of his left hand to hold the mirror while the rest of his hand pulls my head closer to his chest. I could smell the "dentist" on him so well... "Open up for me," he says while his left hand pulls my upper lip straight up high, and his right hand rubs some gauze on my gums right above my front teeth. Then he says, "Ok, bite down now," and his right hand quickly disappeared and then suddenly was right at the bottom of my vision, holding this large, metal syringe with a big ring over his thumb and the pointiest needle I could ever remember seeing. While his left hand pulled my head a little closer to his chest, a little bit tighter, his right hand moved up and I felt the first bit of the needle poking through my gum.

"Ahhh!" I remember saying, because the needle stick felt a lot worse than the first one in the side of my mouth. "Easy now, easy," says Dr. Bob, holding my head tight. Then came the burning. And I cried out, but it wouldn't stop. I squirmed and struggled, but he had me right where he wanted me -- I wasn't going anywhere, especially not my mouth. "Shhh, shhhh, easy now, just a little longer," he says. But it didn't feel like a little longer, it felt like a good long time with that needle deep in my gums pointing right up my face, and it felt like it was never going to end, until it finally did.

My mother was with me, and as an only child she probably felt it as much as I did, having to watch me suffer, and even asked Dr. Bob, "Did it have to be so hard? Wasn't there another way to get him numb?" His only reply was "Not really, I could've given him a shot in the roof of his mouth, but ... he wouldn't have liked that at all." In the roof of my mouth? They DO that? You mean this could've been even WORSE?

The rest of it wasn't painful, but I was on edge the entire time just waiting for something else to be excruciatingly painful. None of it was, but with that thought in mind and watching each and every scary, pointy, drill-y thing going into my mouth, I was done for. Right there that day I knew I was no match for the "torture" that a dentist could impose. I fought going for years with my Dad always dismissing my fears, saying "Oh, Gflin, stop being such a baby, it's not like it hurts like it did when I was a kid!" Thanks Dad, big help.

----

Sorry this was so long. This is actually the first time I've ever actually related this story in any more detail than, "Yeah, had a bad experience, not a fan of dentists." Now that I read it and see how much detail sticks in my mind, it's actually kind of obvious why this turned into such a phobia/fetish. Well. I guess I've covered the phobia part, the fetish part might be at least as interesting!

-g

Didn't see a dentist properly until I was 8 years old.. I was so afraid of the dentist! For what, I don't know! I knew I thought it was ugly-intriguing, the black pits on the back teeth of adults.. I was able to notice as I sang in a mixed aged choir. I wanted to always look into my friends mouths, and I'd ask my closest friends about their dentist appointments.

Honestly I'm not sure how I ended up with such a huge dental fetish lol. It's ONE of my biggest kinks. I've always found it funny because my first experience with a dentist was pretty bad (he was really aggressive and it scared the hell out of me. I was like 3 or so.)

After that initial experience, every single other dentist appointment I had with other dentists was no issue at all. (Never went back to that first dentist after the first visit.) I had absolutely no fear, even when I was super young, and was actually rather excited most of the time.

The first time I realized it was erotic and a turn on of mine was probably when I was 14. I was just getting into the sexual areas of my brain and exploring that stuff. Something just clicked during one appointment and I realized how much of a fetish I had for it- everything from the needles, to the anesthesia, to the helplessness and the gloves and surgical masks and even the dental loupes. I realized I loved ALL of it- even the more intense and painful procedures. I didn't even have to think about it in a sexual way for it to be a turn-on. It's almost embarrassing how much I get into this stuff, and honestly it only makes me more aroused. Lol

Some pleasing posts here recently, including this one from ChloroformDoll:

Honestly I'm not sure how I ended up with such a huge dental fetish lol. It's ONE of my biggest kinks. I've always found it funny because my first experience with a dentist was pretty bad (he was really aggressive and it scared the hell out of me. I was like 3 or so.)

[...]

The first time I realized it was erotic and a turn on of mine was probably when I was 14. I was just getting into the sexual areas of my brain and exploring that stuff. [...] It's almost embarrassing how much I get into this stuff [...]

I believe I'm the guy who started this thread. May I say, ChloroformDoll, how 'typical' your account of a fetish-formation (in your case, a dental fetish) is! Thanks so much! Your post confirms how often a fetish goes back to something in childhood that was painful and/or scary, and where you felt powerless - doctors and dentists are such 'authority figures'! My own 'mouth fetish' stems from two such occasions when I was a boy: having my tonsils out at age 4 and some 'milk-teeth' out when I was 7. Both of those involved being put to sleep, and the first was particularly unpleasant. The second was fractionally less scary, but I believe that memories of being put to sleep for my tonsillectomy were in my mind and there was already the tinge of a sexual arousal! The young anaesthetist actually grinned at me, before applying the Black Beauty-type mask over my nose and mouth, and asked, 'Have you had your tonsils out?' Rather feebly I told him that yes, I had!

Interesting that you call yourself ChloroformDoll. Do they still use chloroform as an anaesthetic? I understood that it had been superseded for many surgeries by things like 'ether' and nitrous oxide. (Ether, which caused fire once every 30,000 surgeries or so (!), was itself largely superseded by halothane and other gasses.)

As for how you became aware at about the age of 14 that you had this erotic fetish, that, too, is very typical. I've posted somewhere on Zity about how so many fetishes, that had been latent, become markedly sexual with the onset of puberty. That's when they become real fetishes, you could say!

Enjoy yours, ChloroformDoll!

- Ken

Responding to Ken here (didn't want to quote the whole thing! But I read it all, promise ;3)

I believe I'm the guy who started this thread. May I say, ChloroformDoll, how 'typical' your account of a fetish-formation (in your case, a dental fetish) is! Thanks so much! You post confirms how often a fetish goes back to something in childhood that was painful and/or scary, and where you felt powerless - doctors and dentists are such 'authority figures'!.... My own 'mouth fetish' stems from two such occasions when I was a boy: having my tonsils out at age 4 and some 'milk-teeth' out when I was 7. Both of those involved being put to sleep, and the first was particularly unpleasant....

Interesting that you call yourself ChloroformDoll. Do they still use chloroform as an anaesthetic?...

As for how you became aware at about the age of 14 that you had this erotic fetish, that, too, is very typical. I've posted somewhere on Zity about how so many fetishes, that had been latent, become markedly sexual with the onset of puberty. That's when they become real fetishes, you could say!

Enjoy yours, ChloroformDoll!

- Ken

Hello Ken! I'm very glad to hear this and know that's it's common, that a scary experience in childhood typically leads to an onset of a fetish. I figured as such as that's the only thing that could make sense in mine, and a lot of other's (including your) situation! They are indeed authority figures, and in a different way than any other authority figure too, which makes it in my opinion easier to become a fetish under the right circumstances. Same for doctors! Your case is very interesting as well, I think that it's so interesting how something so unpleasant can later be such a source of pleasure. Thank you for sharing!

And as for my name- no they don't use it any longer lol. chloroform is extremely dangerous, and I'm not quuuuite old enough to have been around even when they did use it! I chose the screen name because sedation, for lack of better word, is another kink of mine. I do enjoy the concept of being knocked out with chloroform or other things, like injections or pills. Just in concept and roleplay though, too dangerous to actually attempt without being trained 😉 though it's a big favorite, wish I could experience it.

And indeed! I think that's the age when the more "negative" experiences collide with sexual frustration and exploration. Many of my other fetishes came evident around that time as well and it's interesting that it's the same for other people! I enjoyed your take on this and thank you for sharing! Have a lovely evening! 😃

Do they still use chloroform as an anaesthetic? I understood that it had been superseded for many surgeries [...]

To part-answer my own question ... l just heard Stephen Colbert refer to 'waiting for the chloroform to kick in'. My guess is that the word 'chloroform' has become a sort-of generic term for any anaesthetic, a bit like how we say a person 'put a blindfold on himself' when we mean he wilfully screened out information. (How many people have actually worn a blindfold since games in childhood?!)

- Ken

I enjoyed your take on this and thank you for sharing! Have a lovely evening!

That's sweet of you to say, ChloroformDoll (post #13)! Am very glad that my observations about fetishes - including your favourite, dental fetishes! - were informative for you. Your own posts on this topic were also informative, or (at the least) confirmatory! And it looks like you have a fund of other experiences to maybe share on Zity. Lucky us! 😃

- Ken

For a long time, I have had a dental fetish. I remember at about 8-10 years old I would draw pictures of me sat in the dentist chair, with four-five drills in my mouth whirring away at my teeth, blood splattering all over the metal instruments, tears down my face and then I’d screw the picture up and hide it, eventually tearing it up into tiny pieces and throwing it away. The other day, I admitted to my boyfriend that I have this ferish, a kink for watching videos of people having teeth scraped, drilled, extracted, anything mouth related and it excites me. He said that he’s not bothered by my fetish at all which is such a relief! I felt so abnormal for a long time because of my dental fantasies. I even told him, I fantasise about watching him have his teeth worked on, and he doesn’t seem to mind that this is a kink of mine.

Weirdly enough, I don’t enjoy dental visits. The last time I had a cleaning where my teeth were being scraped with that explorer tool, I laid there with my mouth open, cursing because I could feel the metal instrument stabbing at my gums. I don’t get aroused by dental appointments either, I find myself rather anxious to have my own teeth worked on. However, I do have a strong fixation for watching and fantasising about people having their teeth drilled. Something about watching people have their teeth drilled excites me. I thoroughly enjoy watching wisdom tooth extractions too, the more metal instruments in the patients mouth the better, the more helpless they are, the more aroused I get.

I’ve always taken good care of my teeth so I’ve never needed any dental work done, but I’ve always been curious as what it would feel like to experience a drill in my own mouth. I don’t have any sexual fetishes with dentistry, I just fantasise about having the instruments in my mouth, torturing my teeth.

This is my fantasy:

I am going for a routine appointment, when I am lying in the chair, the dentist suddenly tells me that I need to have a major procedure where I need a root canal or multiple fillings and I also need my wisdom teeth ripping out. The dentist ties my hands to the chair and forces a metal mouth retractor against my lips, I begin to scream as he begins drilling into my teeth, the pain making every cell in my body feel awake with adrenaline, he applies pressure to where he is drilling and blood fills my mouth. I scream and scream and he eventually stops, my mouth throbbing in intense pain. The dentist then begins ripping out my wisdom teeth, drilling deep into the bone, another instrument probing the tooth violently, and after 2 hours in the dental chair he has finished.

I think that I am just curious as to what it would feel like to have the drill whirring away in my mouth and part of me would actually like to experience it.

Does anybody else fantasise about having their teeth drilled and worked on?

The weird thing is, I enjoy the idea of being tortured with dental instruments, but when they are used on my teeth for real, I pray for the appointment to be over.

The weird thing is, I enjoy the idea of being tortured with dental instruments, but when they are used on my teeth for real, I pray for the appointment to be over.

I don't go as far as torture, but yeah I also fantasize about being in the chair while really I'm quite scared of the dentist. When I have to go for real I'm always a nervous wreck and I just want it to be over.

Funny how something can be a source of immense fear and pleasure at the same time.

It's my belief that this started when I was very young and had horrible experiences with dentists who did uncecessary work. I had a Dr later who inappropriately touched me and my Ortho messed my braces up. I think that's lead to it.

I hate going and get physically sick almost when I have to but there's something about reading about it or playing or anything like that.

I am also in the group of wanting to be scared in the dental chair and possibly the dentist actually being quite hard / rough with treatment as if it was a favour to me that they were seeing me.

I enjoy the memories of my first fillings in the late 1990s where the really very thick plastic bibs and the older equipment and material (from about 1982) were still used. I think it was girls in ortho that first interested me.

I see that I wrote (two years ago) in post #1: 'The pre-Egyptians put dental fillings in teeth.... I wonder if there were dental fetishes even in those days!'

Well, my favourite expert on paraphilias/fetishes has to be Dr Stephen Juan who wrote the book 'The Odd Sex' (2001). There he describes scores of fetishes - although elsewhere I have read that there are in fact hundreds of them! Reading just now Dr Juan's entry on 'narratophilia' (sexual arousal by pornographic texts), I see that my question is largely answered. An excerpt:

Pornography is an age-old phenomenon. The ancient Greeks were familiar with it, as is evident in the derivation of the word, which is Greek for 'writings about harlots' (from pornê, 'harlot', and graphê, 'writing'). The Roman emperor Tiberius allegedly compiled a personal library of the most explicit pornograhy, of the day, much of it from the East. ... Pornography was produced to some extent in every historical era. Classic pornographic works appeared in both France and England during the 19th century.

For my part, what I loosely call my 'odontophilia' (fascination with teeth, mouths and throats, and procedures connected with them) remains my favourite fetish. It simply won't go away. Isn't that nice? 😁

- Ken

I have the exact same story as LenaM. When I was 7, I had a terrible toothache, so I had to see a dentist. It was very painful, and my dentist was a man. The second time I had a terrible toothache (at the age of 17), I didn’t want to go to the clinic because I knew it would be painful. Then it turned out that my dentist was a beautiful young lady. Actually, she’s still my dentist too. I was surprised when it turned out that she is our friend in common with my friend who works as an Invisalign dentist Bay Village, OH https://thehealthysmile.net/dental-services/invisalign-bay-village-ohio/ . So, that’s it.

I'm a 40+ woman virgin. I feel like this is the reason I've embraced medical and dental fantasies; as well as imagining other people in these fetish situations. I probably did not get as much physical affection from my family either.

I don’t have one particular event that sparked my interest in dentistry as a fetish, I think it really was just a combination of all of my dental experiences growing up, and those of my friends and family (yes, I would always ask people about it). Between routine exams and cleanings, several extractions, 1 filling, orthodontics for several years, and oral surgery, I had my fair share to experience.

My dental fetish came later in life. My pediatric dental appointments were awful. I hated my dentist and I hated going. I had an awful gag reflex and would often throw up, and the hygienist would sometimes have a laugh at that ("try not to throw up on me today" kind of comments). So I loathed the dentist as a kid. Once I could drive and was able to come and go as I pleased I stopped going to the dentist because my experiences had been so bad.

But after a few years of no dental appointments I started having some issues. My parents' dentist had a daughter who was just a couple years older than me and had just finished her dental degree and she had started seeing patients at his office. After all the bad experiences with my older, pediatric dentist it felt like a more comfortable situation to go into. She seemed great at that first cleaning and exam but I need multiple fillings so appointments were scheduled for those. She'd often work later in the day, so I showed up for my first treatment and the office was empty and the sun was already going down outside. I was already interested in power exchange / submission kind of situations and being there with just the dentist and her assistant was alluring on some level. I was terrified but they were great at what they did and the discomfort was minimal. I wasn't aroused at the time but found some aspect of the sense of being alone in the dental office with them, gag holding my mouth open, getting multiple fillings that started to scratch that more fetishy itch. So from then on I started paying more attention to dental stuff, even if it still unnerves me at times.

So that experience (as well as few others later) along with just kind of an evolution of what I was interested in provided the impetus of my dental interests.