the dentist and the chocolate

American chocolate helps Indian dentist.
It is not the usual - children eat chocolates- teeth get spoilt – dentist treats them and makes money – so, chocolates help dentist (and dentists should encourage children to eat more chocolates)– thing, which I must have heard from thousands of people, managing to keep a straight face or even smiling, if it is from my patients. That apart, every parent, with out exception insists that I give strict instructions to their children not to eat chocolates. I usually disappoint them. I tell the children to eat as many chocolates as they wish, provided they brush their teeth after that. Most parents don’t like it. First of all they want to remain in good books of their children and so, do not want to say “NO” themselves. In fact, they like to pamper their children with soft drinks (which are actually very hard on the teeth) chocolates, fast foods and what not and expect the dentist become bad by instructing strictly against all these. I do not help them. On top of it I put stress on brushing, which happens to be the parent’s responsibility and increase their burden and guilt. I am sure they pay me with a grudge.

This ‘chocolate helps dentist’ story is of a 60+ gentleman who had had a bridge (artificial teeth “fixed” in a place with the support of neighbouring teeth) done by me about four years back. Both his children reside in the US. They came for a holiday and brought a good quantity of chocolates. This gentleman's wife recommended a particular chocolate to him and he tried to eat it. As he started chewing the ‘gummy chocolate’ as he put it, the bridge got dislodged and came out. He came to me holding the bridge in hand. He blamed his children for having brought such sticky chocolates. He blamed his loving wife for recommending him those chocolates. He blamed the American chocolate industry for manufacturing tough chocolates. Blamed himself for giving into temptation and trying to eat them. Everybody being blamed except me! Usually in such situations I am the first casualty – the maker of loose teeth. And I called them ‘fixed’ and ‘permanent’. The cheat. But today I escaped. On top of it he said that the bridge was perfect for the past four years. I simply cemented the bridge back in it’s place and collected my fee. This morning the practice was rather slow. The US chocolate prevented recession in my clinic for the day.