Dr. McKeown and nitrous oxide

One of my memories of life in the 1950s was my dentist that used nitrous oxide for pain relief during procedures. Dr. McKeown and my dad had practiced in the same building in Memphis during the depression. They swapped services to each other and their families. My dad got dental care for he and my mother, and Dr. McKeown got eye care for he and his wife. Later the dental care extended to me. I don't think the McKeowns had any kids.

Anyway, we would make a trip to West Memphis, AR and get dental checkup and work. The thing that I loved about going to him as a dentist is that he used nitrous oxide as a way to make procedures painless. You put a nose mask on and breathed through your nose if something began to hurt. If you felt the lights going out, you just breathed through your mouth. Worked like a charm.

Nitrous oxide is also known as laughing gas. Later, in medical school, I would see people come out of the nitrous laughing, and I remember us holding down "Sarge", a gender confused member of a class while giving her nitrous on an OB table. She laughed her ass off. We learned that in the early days, nitrous parties were held by medical students.

All I can say is that the stuff is great for mild pain relief in a dental chair. It also made me laugh as I awoke. I don't mean snicker. These were big and robust belly laughs from the toes upward. Dr. McKeown and his assistant would just shut the door and laugh with me.