Readers' Forum
Diligent dentist
Dr Burjor Hirji, who passed away in 1958, was a well-known dentist of Allahabad. Many of his patients were British, it being the British era, and several kept in touch with him even after they had returned to England.
Hirji had known me from birth and was fond of me, but he would get annoyed because I did not take care of my teeth, mainly because I indulged in chocolates a lot! I would often go to his clinic for fillings, etc. One Sunday morning when I went to him he told me that he would have to extract a nerve before filling the cavity. I was afraid of the pain and that morning I was scheduled to go to a movie with the family so I asked him to do the needful on the next day. When I gave him the reason, he readily agreed, giving me a fond thump on the back, saying he would do a temporary filling. Pleased, I sat in the dental chair and he proceeded with the treatment. Except for a thread-like sensation I felt nothing and was looking forward to attending the movie. He then showed me the nerve he had extracted – without administering an injection!
The fillings he had done for our family lasted for years. After his death, when I started going to other dentists, they could not believe that fillings could last a lifetime!
The dentist had one chair and one assistant. I know that clinics these days are crowded with patients, but it is their five star atmosphere and the charges that boggle my mind. MEHER D. DHONDY
Gurgaon, Haryana
Hirji had known me from birth and was fond of me, but he would get annoyed because I did not take care of my teeth, mainly because I indulged in chocolates a lot! I would often go to his clinic for fillings, etc. One Sunday morning when I went to him he told me that he would have to extract a nerve before filling the cavity. I was afraid of the pain and that morning I was scheduled to go to a movie with the family so I asked him to do the needful on the next day. When I gave him the reason, he readily agreed, giving me a fond thump on the back, saying he would do a temporary filling. Pleased, I sat in the dental chair and he proceeded with the treatment. Except for a thread-like sensation I felt nothing and was looking forward to attending the movie. He then showed me the nerve he had extracted – without administering an injection!
The fillings he had done for our family lasted for years. After his death, when I started going to other dentists, they could not believe that fillings could last a lifetime!
The dentist had one chair and one assistant. I know that clinics these days are crowded with patients, but it is their five star atmosphere and the charges that boggle my mind. MEHER D. DHONDY
Gurgaon, Haryana
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