Nervous about going to the dentist? Ollie the Labradoodle can help

Donna Hedin was so nervous going to the dentist that she had to have a mouthwash that numbed her gums just to get her teeth cleaned.

That changed when the Minneapolis woman started booking her appointments with Ollie, a Labradoodle.

At her last appointment, the curly haired, golden-brown fluffball jumped on Hedin's lap once she was reclined in the dentist's chair. He lay there all the while Hedin was having her teeth cleaned, placing his head on her shoulder.

"Ollie is wonderful," she said. "The anxiety just goes away. I feel so calm because I'm concentrating on the dog instead of my fear."

The 80-pound dog clocks into at J&D Dental in downtown Minneapolis once a week and typically sees about eight patients in a day, said his owner April Kline, who works as a hygienist. Because he's an unabashed mama's boy (he rarely leaves her side), patients have to book appointments with Ollie through Kline.

Ollie got his job almost by accident.

Kline started training Ollie when she was unable to work during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. When she went back to the office, she took him with her on a day her family was coming in for their biannual teeth cleaning.

"Ollie was very curious about how my family was doing in each chair," she said. "Then, finally he jumped on my husband and laid on him and took a nap. I couldn't believe it."

She snapped a few photos of Ollie snoozing with her family, and shared them with clients. A few of them, in turn, asked if Ollie could be with them on their next appointments. It took off quickly from there: Ollie's only been on the job a few months and he's already booked 6 months out.

The well-tempered dog typically snoozes on his patients, said Kline. Though he also will sit next to them, if they prefer — as long as they occasionally pet him.

"They're petting him nonstop and he loves it," Kline said. "He can be pampered all day and they just love it."

A lot of people fear going to the dentist, said Dr. Jennifer Herbert, who owns the practice. Some are scared of the pain, others are gripped by the anxiety of not knowing what to expect, while still others find even the most common procedures intrusive.

Besides using the numbing mouthwash, patients can request laughing gas or a Xanax to help them with their anxiety. But Herbert has noticed patients who book with Ollie seem not to need sedatives.

"He just calms the patient, even just having him in the room — it just lightens the whole mood of the office with staff and patients," Herbert said. "The most common comment we get is, 'This is the best day of my life.' "

All of J&D Dental's patients are given a heads up if they book an appointment on a day Ollie is in, so they are aware a dog will be in the office, Kline said.

But Ollie isn't the only four-legged office regular. There's a chihuahua that sometimes works the front desk and on any given day there might be a few other dogs milling about.

"We're very big dog people here," Herbert said. "We are learning how just the presence of those animals can help our patients have a better experience."