As a kid, I often wondered how dentists made money. It was only when I got my first toothache I realized how. In fact, it was then that I realized the clich'd but apt adage ' dentist is a person who fills a cavity in your teeth by digging a hole in your pocket! The agony of the toothache is alleviated only by the agony of footing the medical bills. Relativity, unlike what Einstein must have envisaged, can work wonders even for somatic troubles!

Experiences abound, with the men in white, forcibly putting their tools (no pun intended!) into one's mouth without the slightest of twitching of the brow. And poor you! Reclining on a mean-looking chair, you are supposed to keep schtum ' with your mouth open of course! That is when you realize the true meaning of the phrase, keeping one's chin up!

The trouble with the dentists, argue some dentists, is that 99% of its members give the rest a bad name! One could not get any more candid, I suppose! It seems that a small pain for a few (wo)men is a big gain for this 'meankind' !

Now picture this, a photograph showing evil-looking dental instruments & the products of a well-known dental care company juxtaposed. The catch line warns: "The choice is yours!" The accompanying model smiles eerily down at you. The psychological intimidation is complete! What a smart way of saying, 'You have no choice! '

Read an solemn epitaph on a dentist John Brown's grave:

"Citizens tread here with gravity,
Here Brown's filled his last cavity...."

How one wishes all the dentists fill only such cavities. But wishes are no horses!