On arrogance and pig's eyes

I was in a dentist's chair this morning, but not for long.

From the outset the guy was patronising, abrasive and borderline rude so I quickly and politely excused myself. He redeemed himself somewhat by telling the receptionist there would be no charge for his bad service, but still I won't be going back.

It reminded me of the only other time I've walked out of a dental surgery like that. That was about 20 years ago, I guess. I had been getting some fillings done at the Sydney Dental Hospital -- this was in the days before the John Howard government vandalised free dental care in this country and you could get more than a tooth yanked out or crappy plastic dentures after waiting for years.

Anyway, 20 years or so ago I went for my appointment, sat in the chair and watched tremulously as my dentist and some three or four others began stretching and slapping on rubber gloves. I was naturally confused. "What do you intend to do?" I asked my main man.

"We're going to extract your wisdom teeth," came the reply.

Now, I've heard from people what it's like to get your wisdoms pulled out, and it ain't nice. You don't want to have it done in a chair and then have to drive home. Some people stay in bed for days after this nasty procedure. You certainly don't want it done without a word of discussion beforehand.

So when I was informed that these men and women intended to remove those teeth, I responded "In a pig's eye you are," got up, walked out and went home. Remarkably, in 53 years I've never had a minute's pain from my wisdom teeth. But I guess professionals know best, especially when there's a welfare guinea pig suitable for the hands-on instruction of several dentistry students.

Tagged: health