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October 14, 2009 | modernhygienist.com Treating Katharine Hepburn One hygienist reflects on having a screen legend as a patient. Numerous times in my career I’ve told patients, “You need orthodontics.” Other times, “Of course you don’t have room for your wisdom teeth. You have that typical New England profile—all teeth and cheekbones.” You wouldn’t think that geographical location would make a difference, but there have been times when I’ve wondered if Texas dental hygienists struggled less to access their patient’s teeth. If everything is bigger in Texas, perhaps the mouths were bigger too? In considering people who epitomize the New England look, no one individual from my hometown of Old Saybrook, Conn. better demonstrates the “all teeth and cheekbone” look than its most celebrated resident, Miss Katharine Hepburn. This past week we rejoiced in the opening of the new Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center. Known to the locals as “The Kate,” it served as our town hall for years until—in a true act of Yankee pragmatism—the old high school was converted to a much needed larger town hall. Yes, even buildings can be recycled. Referrals are the best marketing I had been working in a small dental practice on Main Street for about 10 years when we received word that Miss Hepburn was living in town year round, not just seasonally. Previously, she maintained relationships with doctors in New York City. Now, she was ready to patronize local clinicians, and we were excited at the prospect of her seeing her as a patient. I knew Miss Hepburn’s sister-in-law, Estel, quite well and had seen her in our dental practice for many years. One day, I was in the frozen food section of the supermarket when the less famous Hepburn stopped to ask me about the gum tissue around her lower left second molar. We started out chatting about Tai Chi lessons and somehow I wound up looking at her teeth. We were standing between the frozen peas and the French Fries. In that moment I thought, “I love this tiny town. I am checking Kate Hepburn’s sister-in-law’s teeth in the frozen food aisle.” Privacy and prophies Maybe it was her recommendation, maybe it was something else, but soon we had a movie star on our patient roster. Determined to protect Miss Hepburn’s privacy, we padded the doctor’s schedule with extra time so there was no chance she would have to wait for her appointment. Arrangements were made with her secretary and driver to bring her around the rear of our Victorian office building. This way, she could enter unobserved through the staff entrance. Years after the fact, her secretary told us that in Miss Hepburn’s declining years she truly enjoyed doctor’s visits as it allowed her to get out of the house without being bothered by fans or press. When it came time for me to see the famous actress for her prophies, I remembered what my mother had told me about how to control shaking when putting in golf. If you get the “yips”— as they say in golf—you wiggle your toes as a distraction. My hands stayed steady as I navigated my instruments around the great Kate’s teeth. For a woman who had a much talked about head shake in The Lion in Winter, she was remarkably steady in the dental chair. Even with her advanced years, that unmistakable voice of hers cut through the air with tremendous theatrical projection. A patient across the hallway in another operatory looked up at the assistant and asked, “Is it really her?” There was no mistaking that voice. In casual conversation, I loved the way she referred to Spencer Tracy as just plain “Spence.” She was a warm and loving individual who gave back to her friends, family and community. Out of respect, everyone called her "Miss Katharine Hepburn" and never Kate. It’s good to remember I sat listening to the band Pure Prairie League perform on The Kate’s opening night, thinking back to when I saw them as a college student in 1972. I never would have imagined that one day I would be seeing them again in a theater dedicated to my favorite patient of all time, Katharine Hepburn. For further information about The Kate or Miss Hepburn see www.KatharineHepburnTheater.org. Patricia Walsh is a graduate of the Fones School and the University of Bridgeport. In addition to her clinical hours in a general practice, she is an advocate for children’s dental health in rural Thailand. Ms. Walsh may be contacted at PWalshRDH@Uberhygienist.com
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