Insider Info

"Welcome to Cinema Tin!" says a woman standing in front of the silver screen. She steps away behind the curtain. The children cheer as the lights dim and the screen begins to flicker.

"This is totally awesome," a member of the audience says as she takes a sip of complimentary pop and hands it to her friend. "I'm so glad we came here for your birthday."

"Ssshh, the movie's starting," a voice whispers behind them. The crowd falls silent.

This may sound like a downtown theater, but in fact it's an orthodontist's office. If it doesn't sound like the place you visited to get your braces tightened, that's because this isn't any ordinary clinic.

At Dr. John Gerling's orthodontist office in McAllen, Texas, there are plenty of dentists' chairs and equipment. But there's also a 25-seat theater, complete with its own box office.

"The idea to have a theater just popped in my head one day," says Gerling. He believed his town needed a safe place where young people could have fun together. "There's not enough for kids to do in town," he says.

Gerling also thought the theater would be good for business.

"I'm against professionals advertising," he says. "I think that the larger an advertisement is, the less likely the professional is going to be able to help you."

Gerling wanted people to know about his service, without having to buy an ad in the phone book. What better way to spread the word than to invite groups of children, schools and birthdays parties to free movie nights?

But Gerling doesn't want to pry into the moviegoers' mouths. Aside from having the theater in the orthodontist's office, nothing is done to promote the profession. There aren't any promotional posters on the walls. And the staff person coordinating the movie night doesn't say anything about orthodontic treatment.

"The idea isn't to sell anything," says Gerling. "The children who come here tend to be of orthodontic age, so it's good for me, but they're also of the age when they are looking for something fun to do. It's a win-win situation."

And it seems to be winning over children. On average, kids are watching their favorite movies at the theater four nights a week. This thrills Gerling and his staff.

"It's fun to work with a young clientele and be able to help them," he says.

Gerling found out that he was suited to working with young people while at dental school. "About halfway through dental school, I had my first look at orthodontics and just loved it," he says.

"It was so much fun because a young person's oral health is on the up and up." He found this type of work much more satisfying that working on adults' mouths.

"Many older people's mouths are suffering from neglect, and you end up doing a lot of patchwork," he says.

In addition to working at a group orthodontic clinic, Dr. Karen Hesse serves as an associate college professor, working with dental and orthodontics students.

She was one of the first three female orthodontists in her region. Now there are 10 or 11, she says.

"I grew up in a small town where positions were quite traditional. I hadn't even considered becoming a dentist." Hesse was in her second year of university sciences when she decided to become a dentist.

"I met some dental students and was exposed to what they were learning....It looked really interesting and I thought I would be well-suited to that," she says. "So it was really through exposure at university that it came about."

While she was still attending school, one of her instructors invited her to become his research assistant at his orthodontic practice.

"The work environment at the office is an upbeat pleasant place to be. It's busy, the days go by quickly....It's quite a joy to go to work every day," she says.

She sees a wide range of patients -- aged from six to 50 years. "About 10 to 20 percent are adult patients, but the majority are aged 11 to 14," she says.

Hesse often gets to speak with her young patients about school. "I really encourage them in school to always keep their options open. A lot of times you see students who limit their choices early on in their high school years. I myself changed my mind three or four times about what I wanted to do."

She also advises young people to "not have anxiety when they go to university not knowing what they want to do. That's really where you do find out.

"Take a year or two of basic science or basic arts. If you're covering a wide range [of subjects], often those years aren't wasted -- they're applicable to whatever you want to do."

Hesse recommends "looking for mentors -- professors or people working in the profession -- that can really show you what it's about so you have as much exposure as possible before you decide. And [do] not be afraid to change your mind if you're in a program you're not enjoying!"

Dr. Mark Hans, an orthodontist in Ohio, agrees that working with young people is one of the joys of the job. From a young age, Hans knew that he wanted to be involved in the health profession. After all, his father is a dentist. However, after spending time in the dentist's office, Hans didn't think this was a career for him.

His idea changed the first time he visited an orthodontist's office. "I thought seeing teenagers who were basically healthy and interested in life was fun."

He has made the right career choice. "Being a part of a young person's life and making an impact on their self image is always enjoyable. Tooth decay and gum disease are well controlled, and people are spending their dental dollars on braces to improve their smile and self-image," he says.

It's important that orthodontists get along with their patients. "It can be difficult when you're dealing with a patient who will not cooperate," says Gerling. Often the orthodontist asks patients to wear elastics to correct their bite. "It's frustrating when they don't, and there aren't any results."

Hans agrees that working with some patients is less than enjoyable. "Quite simply, the worst part of the job is working in someone's mouth who doesn't brush their teeth!"

However, Gerling says frustrations can also arise because of the orthodontist, not the patient. "It's important when a patient comes in that you communicate to them what's important," he says. "They have come in for their own reasons, and you have to listen to them and try and help them."

Whether it's by building a theater or bonding on braces, Gerling believes helping people is what keeps him happy in his work. "When you do help and finally see the patient smile after two years of braces, it's a real reward. "