If you were a child in the late 60’s and early 70’s – this blog is for you! Yes, we’re dating ourselves but anyone who grew up in this era with dreams of becoming a Dentist, will always have a soft-spot for one of these holiday movies and in particular, one of the main characters, known as Hermey. Of course we are referring to the holiday classic, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
This stop-motion film first aired in 1964, before many of us were even born! It features a cast of classic characters including Rudolph, his “girlfriend” Clarice, Santa, Yukon Cornelius and of course, Hermey the misfit elf who only ever wanted to be a Dentist. Why? According to Paul Soles, the actor who voiced the role: “I guess what Hermey was appealing for was that he was there to help people, not hurt people.” (1) That’s what all of us Dentists want……simply to help people! It seems Hermey was ahead of his time, he just wanted to “fit in” and follow what would be referred to these days as “his life’s passion.” We believe Hermey’s dream was pain-free dentistry with a focus on the friendly – just like the team here at Brinkley dreams of!
This movie has become a seasonal classic still airing around the world during the holiday season, often as many as four and five times in December. In fact, in 2014 it celebrated its 50thanniversary. I guess the enduring (and endearing) tale of the struggle to fit in, be accepted and celebrated is timeless. In the end, Hermey achieves his dream when he is encouraged to hit the books to study dentistry and later, as part of the action, saves his gang of misfits from the Abominable Snowmonster by removing that characters terrifyingly large teeth.
Now – the team here at Brinkley Dental would like to assure you that removing your teeth is usually one of the last options we would resort to! It’s not routine Dentistry that’s for sure. Instead, we encourage ongoing good oral health care using traditional and (like the movie) timeless methods such as tooth brushing, regular cleanings, flossing when you can and scheduling appointments here at our Brampton Dental office. Give us a call today and lets celebrate the holiday season together by sharing stories about your favourite holiday classic movies. As for today, we’ll end with another timeless classic, our friendly reminder, “don’t forget to be a BFF with your mouth and Brush that SMILE!”
Photo credit: Wikipedia Commons
