The Psychic Dentist and an Unamazing Grace

There comes a point where I must assure my reader that I have not invented any of the preposterous claims that I quote in this book. Indeed, I don’t have the skill to think up the fantastic scenarios that I’ve come upon in the course of my investigations. The field of faith-healing abounds with ridiculous claims, but none sillier than those we will now examine. The Reverend Willard Fuller, of Palatka, Florida, says he can insert dental fillings without drilling or even opening his client’s mouth, turn ordinary silver fillings and crowns into gold, straighten crooked teeth, tighten dentures, cure periodontal disease, and grow new teeth in his clients—all just by calling upon Jesus to do it. He says:Sometimes you can watch a cavity fill up right in front of your eyes. You can actually see silver, gold or porcelain coming up until the whole cavity is full. It’s amazing!

Skimpy Evidence

Fuller calls himself “The Psychic Dentist.” Believers swear that all the above-listed miracles have taken place in their mouths at his command, though none of them has produced before-and-after X-rays to prove those claims. Much of Fuller’s success depends upon the fact that most people do not know where fillings or other repairs are actually located in their own mouths. Also, the faithful find wonders in every little twinge and tingle they experience while in the ecstasies of evangelical fervor. Add a little carefully calculated and applied hoopla and tambourine-thumping, and you have dental miracles. The Fuller literature abounds with fantastic claims. It is easy to simply spout accounts of miracles when no possibility exists of their being checked out. In an October 1986 meeting in Rochester, New York, Fuller claimed that, in Phoenix, an 11-year-old girl with six cavities suddenly had no cavities and no fillings after he cured her. A 66-year-old woman “in upstate New York,” he said, had no teeth. They had all been extracted. As a result of Fuller’s magic, he claimed, she “began cutting a set of baby teeth, and eventually re-grew an entire new set of teeth.” At that same meeting, Fuller’s wife, Amelia, declared: “We welcome skeptics with an open mind [sic] who come to investigate.” Acting upon that invitation, Mark Plummer, executive director of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, who attended the meeting, tried to obtain the identities of the Phoenix girl and the woman with the set of new teeth whom the Reverend Fuller had spoken of. The Fullers declined to supply that information.

Going to the Top

At the suggestion of Florida State Representative Art Simon, on December 4, 1986, I wrote to the appropriate regulatory department of the Florida State government. Three weeks later I received a form which I returned with this letter:Department of Professional Regulation Dental & M.D. Capitol Building Tallahassee, FL 32301   Dear Sirs:   Enclosed is your form 0385, filled out and with accompanying documentation. Briefly, the subject, Willard Fuller, is claiming that he brings about dental healing in the form of filled cavities, new gold caps, straightening teeth and changing silver fillings to gold. His performance is dramatic and convincing to those who do not understand the psychological pressures brought to bear on them, and he takes money from these persons in every place he performs. Fuller is literally claiming to perform medical services while he:1. is not in any way trained for such work,2. does not in actuality perform the services and3. collects money from his victims by fraud. Furthermore, and this may be the greatest harm that Willard Fuller does, he passes through the audience carrying a glass of water along with a variety of dental tools, which he places into the mouths of his victims to examine their teeth and show bystanders where he claims the miracle healings have taken place! No sterilization of instruments is done. This can easily result in widespread infection of various sorts, passed from person to person on the instruments. The list of possible diseases that can be vectored by this means is very large. Fuller’s procedures are potentially very dangerous. I ask that the Department of Professional Regulation investigate his activities, and I wish to file a formal complaint at this time.   Sincerely,     James Randi

On March 17—three months later—I received a letter from Charlene G. Willoughby, senior complaint analyst for the Department of Professional Regulation. In it, I was told:Your complaint has been reviewed by the Complaint Analyst Section of this department. An analysis of your complaint has resulted in referral to the Bureau of Investigative Services of this department. A status report will be sent to you in sixty days, or sooner if possible.

It was 96 days later that I received a form letter addressed to “Randy, James” about “Subject: Filler, Willard.” The letter assured me that reports were being reviewed and that a decision would be made as to whether there was “probable cause” to bring charges against Fuller. It also notified me that “this process normally takes several weeks.” In the eight months since I first notified that Florida state authority, Fuller has met and possibly infected hundreds of people. As this book goes to press, I am still waiting for a response from the state.