Here is a new reason to fear going to the dentist

Here's a new reason to be scared of the dentist.

A 48-year-old man hasn't been able to remember anything new sincehttp://advicehub.zohosites.com/caring-for-your-mouth-things-to-know.html having a routine rootcanal 10 years ago.

"I remember getting to the chair and the dentist inserting the local anesthetic," the patient, namedWilliam, told the BBC. Since then, he's been unable to remember anything for longer than 90minutes.

In May, William's medical team published a report on his condition in the journal Neurocase. "Wehad never seen anything like it before," wrote Dr. Gerald Burgess, a clinical psychological at theUniversity of Leicester. "We do not know what to make of it."

The British veteran, who was stationed as a soldier in Germany at the time, is believed to besuffering from a type of memory loss known as anterograde amnesia. But without any damage to hisbrain, or signs of psychological trauma, neuropsychologists have no clue what could have caused it."It is a bit of a head-scratcher," John Aggleton, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at CardiffUniversity, told the BBC.

Burgess -- who doesn't believe the memory loss can be attributed to the dental procedure -- hopesthe report's publication will attract other neurologists who may have dealt with similar cases.

Until then, William continues waking up every day thinking it's March 14, 2005. Each morning hereads a document of key facts and events that his wife prepares the night before. He also has to bereminded that his daughters are now, at 21 and 18, grown adults.

But he hasn't lost hope: "I want to walk my daughter down the aisle and remember it. Should theybecome parents, I would like to remember that I have grandchildren, and who they are."