Scram, Tooth, Ya Bother Me

Wednesday is Root Canal Appreciation Day. If every dental procedure with a bad reputation had a holiday, well, you can just imagine. But the root canal has been particularly unfairly judged, says Dr. Samuel Oglesby, an associate professor of clinical dentistry at USC who has performed more than 25,000 of the endodontic treatments. “I’ve had probably a dozen in my own mouth,” he adds, “and those feel fine.” If the office you visit doesn’t stock laughing gas, close your eyes and think of W.C. Fields, at right, wielding pliers in the 1932 short “The Dentist.” Or not.