(This Footnote to History article was printed on page 8 of the March 13, 1948, publication of the San Luis Obispo Tribune, and is reprinted word-for-word below.)

New Pill Bans That Fear of Trip to Dentist

LOS ANGELES. Mar. 13. (U.P.) A harmless pill will take away all your fear of that trip to the dentist.

Two dentists promised today that if you take the pill, a mild barbiturate, when you leave the house, you can walk fearlessly into the doctor’s office.

Drs. Milton Levine and Robert Hoyt, of White Memorial hospital’s institute of experimental medicine, said the pill prevents fear and eliminates some of the pain of having teeth filled. They said they had eliminated the rest of the pain through a new painless technique of injecting anesthetic.

The new treatment was tested successfully on more than 200 patients in the last two years. Trips to the dentist became a pleasure instead of a horror for both adults and children, the doctors said.

The pills have no bad effects on children if used in the amounts recommended by dentists, they said. If children prefer, they can drink an equally harmless soda pop containing the barbiturate.