A dentist's life: i'm not heavy, i'm a dentist

ROB DIGASTRIC qualified from Leeds in 2003 and now works in a long-established general dental practice in a pleasant market town in the North-east. I get up working day mornings about 6:30

am and make myself a cup of coffee before going back to bed and reading the news on my mobile phone as I am heavily into both current affairs and technology. After a shower, shave and so on

I go downstairs and make another coffee and breakfast. I am heavily into healthy eating so I make the first meal of the day an exception to this by having two or three _pain au chocolats_

and some digestive biscuits. Generally I cycle to work, which I calculate burns off most of the calories in at least one of the biscuits, arriving about 8:15 am if there is no traffic and it

isn't raining or foggy. I like to get in before the first appointment so I can check the day book on my tablet. This helps me to worry more about the patients I am going to see during

the treatment sessions, the stress of which I calculate burns off about half of one _pain au chocolat_. My nurse, Pamela, brings me another coffee and some fruit as I have told her about me

being heavily into healthy eating. Overall I like seeing patients and the practice allows me a great deal of freedom in some restricted clinical areas, which I appreciate to the extent of

agreeing to forfeit a higher percentage of my income. I have recently been on an implants course given by a visiting US dentist to help further my surgical knowledge. The amount of

information packed into the whole half-day has really helped in boosting my confidence and of the two implants that I have inserted so far I have a 100% success rate, one having been in

place for a fortnight and the other for nearly five weeks. By midmorning I can feel my sugar levels dropping so some more fruit is needed, a slice of banoffee pie being ideal, together with

a latte or cappuccino. At lunchtime I might go for a short bike ride or a slightly longer stroll as there is a very good local baker's shop about three-quarters of a mile away. Their

Cornish pasties are very good and my Apple watch calculates that I burn the equivalent of eating an apple and mango using either means of transport. At dental school I really enjoyed

paediatric dentistry but there is not so much opportunity to practise it here as the children who need treatment are often fractious and those who are pleasant and chatty rarely need

anything doing. I understand that orthodontics is a real growth area but I have always found that a bit tedious which is as well, as it is a long specialist training programme. My life is

full of one or two hobbies which include martial arts and cooking. My partner is a freelance brand awareness consultant. She works a lot for a company based in Albania so I often cook for

myself in the evening having downloaded a recipe from my iPad on the way home or popped into Waitrose for a ready meal, having checked online that they have stock. If it is a martial arts

night I cycle home, have a coffee and change before driving the 25 or so miles to the club premises (actually a church hall). The exercise can be surprisingly vigorous and I often join the

others afterwards for some fish and chips as there is an excellent shop just minutes away. I am usually home and in bed with a coffee by about 10 pm and read the news on my laptop. I am

almost as heavily into my laptop as I am into healthy eating as it seems to have a greater 'weight' than the other technologies, smart as they are. Would I recommend dentistry as a

career to young people? Yes I would. You get to help people, use your hands and drink a lot of coffee all of which makes you a better person, especially if you are heavily into things.

_IMPORTANT NOTE TO READERS_ _This content has been created for the entertainment of readers in the spirit of seasonal good humour and, on the whole, possesses not an ounce of truth. All

persons, products, URLs and email addresses mentioned have been invented by the_ BDJ _Editorial Team_. Authors * Stephen Hancocks View author publications You can also search for this author

inPubMed Google Scholar RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Hancocks, S. A dentist's life: I'm not heavy, I'm a dentist. _Br

Dent J_ 221, 751 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2016.940 Download citation * Published: 16 December 2016 * Issue Date: 16 December 2016 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2016.940

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