David Shactman

AUTHOR

Mental Dental

Mental Dental

MENTAL DENTAL by David Shactman The odor. I can’t describe it, but every dentist office has that same antiseptic smell. One sniff and my muscles tense and the old anxiety returns. Automatically, I flash back, and I am eight years old and getting a cavity filled for...
A Back-and-Forth With the New York Times

A Back-and-Forth With the New York Times

A Back-and-Forth With the New York Times David Shactman <davidshactman@gmail.com> Thu, Oct 23, 2025 at 10:46 AM To: letters@nytimes.com This letter addresses your editorial decisions and would have been sent to your ombudsman if that position still existed. It...