jEDI blogs

There is a very noticeable improvement in my condition. In fact, I already feel almost cured. I had written myself off for a week there, but no. The super drug did its job and amen for that. It probably induced 15 side effects on the way, which would reveal themselves 3 years later. Ok, I'm only kidding.

Staying on the current theme of doctors and medicine, there's a certain group of people I want to talk about here. The Dentists! Boy o Boy - if someone took me back to the past in a time machine, and I knew in advance that I was gonna live somewhere in the west, there would be one and only one profession I would choose for myself - dentistry. The amount of dough these guys earn out here is *obscene*. Yes, there's only one word to describe it - obscene. The moment these guys step out of their dental college they are virtually sitting on a goldmine. The amount of money I spent on extracting one tiny little tooth here is five times more than the entire amount I have spent on a dentist *all* my life in the motherland. The amount of money the dentists charge here for a root canal is more than me getting a to and fro ticket to India and getting all my teeth done! Of course, a lot of this is relative and I'm not in the slightest suggesting that dentists are any cheaper in India. But in comparison, dentists are a gazillion times expensive here than any other doctors, medicine.. heck any darn thing for that matter! So much so, that I am frightened at the slightest indication of a toothache or any other dental problem. I usually spend the rest of the year in constant fear of having to visit a dentist. The visit home can't come soon enough. Of course, its great if your company offers you a dental plan but that depends on where you live. If you live somewhere in Europe, consider yourself doomed. Even with a dental plan you could be looking at spending a lot in case of surgery, for instance. So, keeping this entire thing in mind, what would you think is the one thing I always do each time I visit home? You guessed it right - go to the dentist. It doesn't matter if I'm having no tooth trouble at all, I still do it. 

I usually delay it to the end of my stay but this time I decided to pay an early visit to my favorite dentist. I say my favorite because choosing a dentist is like choosing a bride. You never know what you are getting into until you try one out. And divorcing them is so darn difficult too. They usually tie you down for hundreds of visits “Today I did this, next week I'll do that, the following week more tartar removal, and the next..” Its like a never ending nightmare! And of course, they keep charging more and more money and all this for squat. Hence, you need to try out a few, until you find someone who sounds reasonable and suits you the best so that you can settle down on it finally. I wish same was applicable to brides Anyhow, the visit went well enough. I got a cavity filled and the rest of the job is scheduled to be done sometime next week. Incidentally, the dentist recognized me immediately and I was pleasantly surprised. I have only visited him once before and that was a year ago! Considering, that he sees like 50 odd people everyday, I found that remarkable. I feel this is a relationship which will carry on long term!

jEDI