Dentists

OK, I was a bit harsh on the Dhaka Dentist in my last blog. Apologies. He was really a nice fellow. His Clinic was clean, hygienic and loaded with the latest gizmos and gadgets. State of the art stuff. His assistants were efficient and seemingly professional. The dentist himself was soft spoken and seemed to communicate well with my child. And at the end of four sessions, he had extracted 4 teeth, filled 4 others and sold us a costly dental insert which looks like the thing boxers wear inside their mouths. The poor girl has to keep it in all night and for at least one hour during the day. Now surely the dentist could not be held responsible for the cost of that thing or the poor condition of my child’s teeth! It was just his good fortune that I ran into him on that fateful day! And if I lost a month’s pay in four sessions, it’s just because I am paid less! Why blame the poor (?) dentist! And if he chose to continually address my wife and ignore me, it was perhaps because her face is more pleasant and I look positively repulsive when I frown. Again, can’t blame the dentist if I can’t help frowning when my child’s eyes brim with tears. And after eight years of marriage, if I am still not used to being ignored when my wife is around, that’s my problem, not the dentist’s!!

But I can’t help this love-hate relationship with dentists – I hate their grins and they love my open mouth (and I suspect open purse as well)! The last time I visited a dentist (before Dhaka) was a year back at Bangalore, India. She was soo charming and she smiled at almost anything I said. The wise nods were timed to perfection. She loved retaining eye-to-eye contact and had large brown eyes with long lashes behind stylish semi-rimmed glasses. Her teeth were well shaped and sparkling white and generated confidence in the dentally challenged. She was well built without being imposing – the sort of health you need to pluck out reluctant teeth that are not really decayed.. And when she inspected my teeth, she gave me another of her radiant smiles. When I commented that I knew my teeth looked like post-US Afghanistan, she laughed heartily. To this date I wonder whether it was my comment that made her laugh or my utterly hopelessly funny dental condition. Or was she thinking about her holiday in the hills (and me pre-paying all the bills). Anyway, she offered me some dates which I gleefully accepted. My caring wife accompanied me on all these dates, and the beautiful dentist’s dutiful dentist husband performed the drilling, grinding, ‘Gutta Percha’ stuffing, fillings, extractions, et al. I do not like to hang on to painful memories, so the details are not available for you. And yes, I might have disliked him less had he not insisted on giving free tutorials to my wife on the effects of smoking on teeth. Firstly, I had already quit smoking. Secondly, I couldn’t defend myself with my mouth locked open. Thirdly, it is not pleasant to be scrutinized like a museum mummy when you are still breathing. It left a bad taste in the mouth, pun intended. After six sessions at the dentist, I had to spend another two sessions with our company’s accounts dept. explaining how I could incur a five figure medical bill without hospitalization and why it cannot be termed a cosmetic treatment! Anyway, I got my medical reimbursement. Still….

I don’t like dentists! I just can’t help it! :-)