Toothache

Once upon a time, a guy from Pluto came to visit a specialist gastroenterologist. "I hate to bother you, and as we all know, it is late," a voice pleaded eagerly. "But I'm in trouble and need to talk to you about my indigestion…"

"Fine – can you tell me how the indigestion is bothering you at such late hours?"

"Oh, yes. The stomach problem all started when I took the steak for my dinner."

"When did you start to have indigestion after taking steak?"

"Not a long time ago. I can be quite sure that the problem comes when my left lower wisdom tooth began to ache yesterday. It must be the culprit, I bet."

"I’ve got an answer to that!" screamed the gastroenterologist who has been exhausted after a whole day’s clinic work. "Gotta get your dentist - and not a gastroenterologist like me - to loosen the Gordian knot."

"Sure, my wisdom tooth used to be cared by my wisdom teeth dental surgeon, who happened to be on vacation. What a pity! How can I trust my incisor dentist who has been taking care of my incisor teeth but never touches my wisdom tooth?"

"Just a moment," the specialist gastroenterologist drew a deep breath and asked in a polite manner. "It is not for me to stick my head in there, but it's the left lower wisdom toothache that bothers you. Would it be fine, then, to let the right teeth to do the job?"

"No, no. You didn't seem to know my problems, Doc." Disappointment and resignation hang in the air. "Let me tell you, throughout the years, I chewed the steak with my left wisdom teeth, whereas the right teeth are dedicated to chicken meat. This is what we mean by specialised care."

Your jowls might drop when you hear this story. It won't take us long, nevertheless, to discover that similar stories abound at our specialised outpatient clinic. Amid all the frustration and annoyance, I have to learn that a bottle dedicated to carry urine for laboratory analysis should never be used to contain urine for another purpose, such as a dipstick test.