Welcome to my life. The life of a reluctant dentist. This book charts the course of a nervous student dealing with people from all walks of life, from exploding angry abscesses to exploding angry people, both in and out of the chair.
When I was a wet-behind-the-ears school sixth former, it seemed like a really good idea to go to university and study the teeth, gums and mouth. I’m still trying to work out why I thought that was a good idea.
The definition of a dentist mentions competencies in biomedical knowledge, surgical dexterity, and critical thinking. What it fails to include is being an unpaid therapist, getting splattered in pus,
coaxing nutters out from under the dental chair, having the police storm your surgery, and dealing with patients who think a crown is something you put on your head, then try and sue you when you
say otherwise.
Written as a form of therapy – to offload on paper – this book gives a frank account of life both in and out of the surgery. So, take a seat in the waiting room and I’ll see you shortly in Chapter One…
Dr Bill is a reluctant dentist who lives with his kind partner and a neurotic cat. This is his first book.
There may be another. This depends on whether Dr Bill’s patients are gracious sweethearts who give him nothing to write about, or cantankerous bastards who provide the fodder for written revenge!
My thoughts: I am not entirely fond of going to the dentist, I’ve got a very nice dentist and my teeth are in good condition so I don’t need any fillings or telling off, but something about that chair sets me on edge!
This is a very funny collection of Dr Bill’s experiences as both a dental student and in practice. His patients are a mix of complete and utter lunatics, at least the ones he’s shared here, I imagine the more normal ones aren’t interesting enough. They flirt, scream, threaten, storm out, almost get arrested and generally cause havoc, all while the dentist and his nurse attempt to provide at least the very basics of dental care to these charming individuals.
After a career in the trenches of the NHS, Dr Bill has a go at teaching new dentists and then moves to private patients, as the NHS system is a total joke, and dentists just don’t make enough to live on.
Luckily there are also even more insane, entitled patients there too, and plenty to keep us readers entertained. Expect to see copies in waiting rooms everywhere!
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 