Pain: The science and culture of why we hurt

In neuroscience, the homunculus has big gorilla hands, a giant toe, looming genitals, and huge lips and tongue; these brain-areas lie close together, or even overlap. Anything that happens to the mouth might as well be happening to the genitals, too, which is why kissing is integral to sex. By this logic, and according to the homunculus, dentistry could be considered the antikiss. If there is incest or other dark sexual trauma in someone’s past, dental work can stir up those memories, too.