Friday, April 21, 2006

Verdun Dentists

As a kid in the 40s and 50s going to the dentist alone was always a
traumatic event. Both parents worked. There were two dentists I went
to. Both men had there offices upstairs. One on the south side of
Verdun Avenue near 4th or 5th -- he was the impatient one. I could
never keep my head still. The other doctor -- he was patient with
children (still frightening). His practice was on the north side of
Wellington Street some where around 3rd or 4th.

48 comments:

maroonvet MSN said...

The one on Wellington was between 1st & 2nd , Dr Mallette (? Spelling) or Mollot. I think he was next to the Jewelry Durocher over over it.   Gordo                              

redmond2349 MSN said...

There was almost a Dentist for every candy store in Verdun.As your mother would say,"keep eating candy and I'll be taking you to the Dentist". Steve

winnie3ave MSN said...


Bill. I went to the same 2 dentists. I remember one time when I was probably about 5. I had a bad toothache, my mother was working and my 2 sisters took me to the dentist on Verdun Ave. I wouldn't open my mouth. He finally got me to open my mouth, shove some contraption into my mouth to keep it open. My 2 OLDER sisters held my arms, and he proceded to pull my tooth, without any freezing or anything. Gee I wonder why I have trouble going to the dentists even to this day. When my mom got home,  my oldest sister had to go back to pay him his pound of flesh. 25 cents. Winston Allison

redmond2349 MSN said...

Did your Dentist look like him? Vancouver dentist Kerstin Conn             Steve

maggiemck MSN said...

I had the same kinds of experiences with Dr. Mallotte, on Wellington between 1st and 2nd Ave. I guess he figured he was saving our parents the expense of freezing. Cost me a whole lifetime of anxiety. Maybe we should have taken a clue from the toothless St. Bernard that sat in the entrance of the building?

kungfu MSN said...

Dr Mollette , geez, we were poor , think he took us as an afterthought, freezing what was that, oh did he hurt , dentists still bother me to this day , guess he was o k , for some , but I sure did not like this guy , jimmy

multipurposeutensil MSN said...

I remember going to Dr.Mollott for years, and my Mother paying him a few dollars a week. I did not even know that freezing existed until I started going out with my wife and switched to her Dentist on Belanger Street. I thought I was in heaven compared to what I had been through.......m.p.u.

sandy19465 MSN said...

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multipurposeutensil MSN said...

Sandy, yes, Dr.Mollott was very nice, but when I changed Dentists the new one asked me the same question....why were four or five teeth pulled? When my Mother had all her teeth pulled to have dentures, Dr.Mollott came to our house and pulled all my Mom's teeth while she was laying in bed. This was very nice of him, I thought. m.p.u. 

sweet_n_gorgeous_anna MSN said...

  Hi There !   I just want to let you know that there was also Doctor Lafleur on the Corner of Willibrord and Wellington right across from Steinbergs.. He was there for many many years . His office, was located where the Dunkin Donuts are right now. He was on the second floor in the building. I know because my Mother use to be his Dental Assistant, he was an excellent Dentist ! Then after he sold , it was Doctor Khan. He did not stay too many years !!! I also had Doctor Mollet . He always had his big Saint Bernard that he use to take for walks .   Sweet_N_ Gorgeous Anna

popdog0 MSN said...

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sandy19465 MSN said...

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sandy19465 MSN said...

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sandy19465 MSN said...

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mom1945-linda MSN said...

Whenever I was sick, I begged time off from school, but my mom's favourite saying was "Go to school, and if you're sick enough, they'll send you home."   Same with dentists, you didn't do preventative care, and when you had a cavity it had to hurt real bad before you visited the dentist.   Yah, we're a hardy bunch.   Cheers.

happydi2 MSN said...

Hi: My husband went to Dr. Charland on Verdun Ave near the Bank of Montreal, at least that is what he remembers. I went to Dr. Lionel Boyer on Monk Blvd. and was her ever handsome!!!!!! Luckily we both had and still have very good teeth, never had any extracted and not too many fillings....Dianne .

secondave MSN said...

The below is from my cousin who grew up on Willibrord and Crawford
Park. I emailed him my experience.
....................
We were never really taught the value of tooth care and how important
your teeth are to your health. Our Parents had false teeth by their
40s. Dentists in Verdun were butchers. I remember an unpleasant
visit. I think he was on Wellington too near Willibrord. He just
wanted to pull your teeth, not save or fill, I negleced mine until
into my late 20s when I had already lost some teeth and teeth in bad
shape.

brownblvd2 MSN said...

Hey Popdog,   I also went to Demers on Bannantyne.  The main thing I remember about him, besides the big needle, was him saying "Wider...wider".   I don't know if Duggy Norman went to Demers.  Remember him?  We had a conversation about Duggy about 5 or so years ago.  You reminded me how he stomped on you in the Tommy Moore schoolyard.  I had forgotten all about that, until you reminded me about 40 or so years later, and then I remember that I witnessed the Big Stomping myself.   BrownBlvd

popdog0 MSN said...

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conniekoz MSN said...

Winston:   Now would my mom and Maureen do that to you   Didn't Dr. Mollott extract Bumpy's teeth on the table in the dining room/bedroom on Third Avenue.  The story I remember being told is this..........he was to come and remove all Bumpy's top teeth (or was it bottoms) and when he woke up he had NO teeth at all.  Apparently Nanny (your mom) negotiated a good deal to take them all at once  She figured it was only a matter of time anyhow LOL  I remember my mom, Maureen and Bumpy telling me this story!   Connie

les__f MSN said...

Mollot should have been shot,.......he was terrible,  I wonder what ever happened to him             HF&RV

sandy19465 MSN said...

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les__f MSN said...

Ok Sandy I'll revise my post,.......  mollot should have been shot (with Novacaine),..Something he knew nothing about          hahahahahahaha                                                        Have Fun & Remember Verdun

sandy19465 MSN said...

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margo MSN said...

 
 
I almost kicked him out his window right on Verdun Ave
But my Mum stopped me, he was cruel.
Margo

sharron cosgrove MSN said...



Can someone please tell me where Angels is? I have tried Pete's on
Eglington, and I had thought that was the closest I have gotten to a good
Mtl smoke meat sandwich, you can barely hold the sandwich in your hand it is
so heaping and at $7.00 I was shocked, what a deal.




>From: "Margo"
>Reply-To: "Verdun Connections"
>To:
>Subject: Re: Verdun Dentists
>Date: Sat, 22 Apr 2006 10:41:46 -0700
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>I almost kicked him out his window right on Verdun Ave
>But my Mum stopped me, he was cruel.
>Margo
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sharron cosgrove MSN said...



You must be talking about Dr. Mullett he was very cruel, If I remember
correctly a pull for $5.00 and a filling for $10.00 with lack of money in
those days lots of toothless kids walking around now.



>From: "Margo"
>Reply-To: "Verdun Connections"
>To:
>Subject: Re: Verdun Dentists
>Date: Sat, 22 Apr 2006 10:41:46 -0700
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> New Message on Verdun Connections
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> Verdun Dentists
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> Reply
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> Reply to Sender
> Recommend
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> Message 26 in Discussion
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> From:
> Margo
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>I almost kicked him out his window right on Verdun Ave
>But my Mum stopped me, he was cruel.
>Margo
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popdog0 MSN said...

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secondave MSN said...

http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=025061

shirleybh2 MSN said...

I remember a dentist on the corner of Vinet and Notre Dame on top of the City and District Bank - I also remember a dentist on the south side of Center Street near Island smack across from St. Gabriel's Church - back then they quoted you $40 for extraction of however many teeth you had including gas - or $10 a filling - so you can see why so many opted for the total extraction.  I remember my mother taking me to a dentist on Cote des Neiges around Sherbrooke - he had a garden suite office (french doors opening onto a balcony) he had no patience and by the time I got out of there one less patient - while he was preparing the novacaine and my mother was out in the waiting room - I high tailed it out of the chair opened the french doors and over the balcony onto the grass and whoosh I was off - dentist went looking for me in the waiting room - my mother said that I never came out of his office (den of torture) so by the time they opened the french doors all they could see was a pair of red shorts in the distance. That earned me a trip one Thursday or Friday evening to the Dentist on Vinet who agreed with my mother that it might be prudent to give me gas - that was a mighty good decision even if it were just a few back baby teeth.

margo MSN said...

 
 
 
Go right up Highway 10 to you hit Orangeville  turn
Left on Broadway and it is just past McDonalds
On your left side.
 
We would like to get a bunch of Ex-Verdunities to all
Go up at the same time and talk about growing
Up in Verdun looking to try and make in in May
 
Margo

bahama865 MSN said...

just to comment, any one visit dr. gerald touchette? every summer i , and a few of my friends had our teeth checked, and filled. i still have my teeth.  the proof s in the pudding, then i changed dentists and went to a westmount dentist dr. rae carson. so much for dentists and we won,t discuss doctors, i hope. or health care plans. hello to all. carolyn bennett.

mom1945-linda MSN said...

I was just remembering the old jingle:   "You'll wonder where the yellow went....when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent."   I think this advert. is from the late 50's, 60's (?) so I guess the dentists must have known then about smoking and yellow teeth.  Too bad they didn't start a campaign way back then to try and discourage smoking.   Cheers.

happydi2 MSN said...

I never had a bad experience at the dentist, so far anyway, thank goodness. Some of Posts were scary  but post 31 was hilarious, especially the part about running away.   Dental care is very expensive and thank goodness for dental plans. Many people are not so fortunate....Dianne        

shirleybh2 MSN said...

My sister and a girl who was in the class after me both had the misfortune of going to the school dentist.  Anyone remember them? The friend ended up moving from the West End when they built the highway above St. Antoine and all the houses were torn down so my cousins who lived next door to her also moved to Verdun.  Her brother sometimes posts here -they ended up finishing highschool at VCHS but her experience was the same as my sisters.  They both went to the dentist at the Children's hospital - not sure if it wasnt a dental school - they pulled all of my sisters upper front teeth - 6 or 7 teeth - she was 13 years old and these were her second teeth.  She refused to leave the dental clinic so they made her upper partial denture that day - she was at the clinic from early morning until about 3 and ended up going to my cousin's house who lived near St. Antoine and Atwater before coming home.  The friend now lives 5 minutes from me by car in Calgary - a couple of years ago we re-connected and somehow we got on the subject of dentists and she told me her story - very similar to my sister. A shot of novacaine is too tame for these half-assed dentists. I would never go to the school dentist so lived to keep  my teeth.

secondave MSN said...

Who was the dentist from hell on the south side of Verdun Avenue west
from 2nd Avenue during the 40s and 50s?

I had my 11 year old healthy tonsils and adenoids taken out at the
Verdun General Hospital, only because if you had them removed before
the age of 12 then it was free. Not 100% sure of the ages.

Grateful I survived the times. Not complaining.
S.A.

kitiara736 MSN said...

Wow, my memories of Dr. Mollott are all good - I had terrible teeth, like chalk, as a young person and he would see me without an appointment when I had an abcess - which was often. Mum called him one Sunday and he opened the office just for us! Never touched my teeth without freezing either. All my teeth were removed at home when I was 21 - he brought a Dr. with him for the anesthetic - and he had taken impressions of my teeth to make my plate so very few people even realized I had false teeth!

cookie3773 MSN said...

Linda,  the reason the dentists didn't start a campaign back then to discourage smoking is..the Dentists all smoked, I remember the smell back then and the yellow fingers off the dentist.......awe..such fond memories.   cookie

lllllllfranticlllllll MSN said...



thats sick a dentist with yellow fingers
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cookie3773 MSN said...

Bill...I only recall Dr.Mollot and a Doctor Demers back then..one of them gave me gas to put me out,but gave me too much and I wasn't waking up. hummm..still not sure where I am now??!!?? heh heh   cookie

winnie3ave MSN said...

Kitiara.......Well aren't we special!!!!!!!  Just joking. You were one of the very lucky ones.  And that is a good thing!!!! Most of the rest of us are still traumatized. But what the heck. 50 years from now it won't even matter. Winston Allison

secondave MSN said...

He also had yellow crooked teeth. My he rest in peace in the dental
office in the sky.
S.AS.

waynefeb2940 MSN said...

There was  Dr. Lucier on Wellington near Church. He seemed to specialize in kids. Later in life, every filling he put in had to be dug out and refilled.  Iguess he didn't hurt because he wasn't doing a good job Wayne Brien

frank leigh MSN said...

I remember a Dr Demers on Bannantyne Avenue between Manning and Richard Streets I think. His office was on the ground floor of a fourplex, and he did well by me as he installed a pin to reset a broken tooh and its still there 50 years later - but I don't expect he is. Frank Leigh

junebug61133 MSN said...

HI Frank,   Can you believe it, we both shared the same dentist.  It must have been the candies I gave you that wrecked your teeth.

country girl MSN said...

Hi Margo, I just read your post about Orangeville (which seemed to come out of nowhere on the Verdun Dentists topic). I live in Brampton and would love to get together with  fellow ex-Verdunites.  Let me know when and where and I'll try to make it.  As a doula, however, a birth may prevent me from getting there - LOL.   Pam (Hyde)

brenda said...

I am 63 years old. I Went to the dentist today to get my teeth cleaned. I recalled Dr. Mollot, how that SOB ruined my teeth. Pulled most of my molars just because they had some cavities. I was only between the ages of 6 and 15. Pathetic. No freezing for fillings. Just extractions. He came to my house once when I was six and once when I was 12. Pulled 8 teeth on my kitchen table with gas. OMG, what were my parents thinking????. That asshole should have been banned from dentistry Not to mentioned it tooks years for me to get over my fear of dentists

Les_F said...

Your right Brenda Mollot ( I'll skip the DR. monicker for this clown) he was tragic, I have heard more horror stolries than praise. There were still some archaic dentists in those days,another nutcase was on Centrale in the Bronx btwn: 2nd & 1st I think it was. He suggested he would need to take the tooth on wither side of one broken tooth to get at the bad one........I dunn thins so Lucy. I told him to forget that. He did however take a wisdom tooth out of me & I bled profusely for 3 days .....Yikes.
That being said, I have had some fantastic Dentists since that time,way back when. Cheers ! Brenda & thanks for surfing by. -LesF