To have a fear of the dentist is something that, while I can appreciate, I have never experienced myself. I remember when the Dental Van used to visit our Primary School, and wishing today was my turn to pay them a visit so I could get one of those fluorescent stickers to let everyone know ‘I went to the dental van.’ I only ever had the opportunity to don one of these stickers once, and I wore it with pride, without a thought for the pain I had probably endured behind that caravan door. Such was the clever distraction of a simple sticker.

Mum ensured we had regular check-ups at our family dentist, so that any con