This 2000 issue of ADA News features an article on page five entitled, “The art of dentistry: The culture of painlessness” that briefly explores the history of pain management in dentistry with the goal of making dental treatments pain-free.
The article offers a wonderful example of perspectives on emerging and future technology, both intentionally and unintentionally via its reference to cell phones. From the article: “There is another hope for banishing dental pain, or at least changing its meaning, in the unexpected wake of an emerging technology. Or rather, the public reaction to it: Time reported recently that 59 percent of the Americans surveyed said they would rather visit a dentist than sit next to anyone using a cell phone.”
The article starts on page 5. To skip to page 5, type 5 in the black page number box at the top of the PDF.