The Root Reflections- A dental journey

  Years ago, in the middle of a tough day at the clinic — the kind of day where your brain starts to lag and your focus drifts — I asked my nurse for a 10-minute break. I had just finished with a patient and knew I couldn’t pour from an empty cup anymore. "Prepare the room, but give me 10 minutes," I told her. I leaned back in my consultation chair, placed a towel over my eyes, and let everything go. Just deep, intentional stillness. No alarms. No interruptions. Exactly ten minutes later, I sat back up, feeling completely refreshed. I called the nurse in, ready to continue with the next patient. She stood there, stunned. "Doctor… you slept? For real? And you’re so fresh!" I laughed and said, "That’s Inemuri — the Japanese art of power napping!" She blinked. “Inemuri?” “Yes,” I grinned. "It means ‘sleeping while present’ — a sacred secret of staying sane!" In Japan, Inemuri is a respected practice — even in work environments — where pr...

 A few months ago, an 8-year-old girl was referred to my clinic by a concerned pedodontist. The note read: “Child is extremely anxious and uncooperative. Please try laser if available.” The panoramic radiographs revealed a deep carious lesion on tooth B—very close to the pulp. Recognizing her anxiety and fear of needles and drills, I decided to attempt the restoration using laser as requested by pedodontist, without local anesthesia. It took a lot of gentle persuasion and self-anger management, but she agreed. To my amazement, she sat through the entire procedure without flinching. No whining drill, no needles, no tears. The procedure was completed smoothly, and both the parents and the referring dentist were genuinely surprised and grateful. That day, I realized—not only the brilliance of pedodontists (Hats off to their patience) —but the immense power that laser dentistry holds in transforming clinical practice. What Lasers Bring to the Chair  1. Anxiety-Free Dentistr...

  Lately, I’ve come across quite a few posts—especially from younger dentists—sharing their frustration. Burnout. Underpayment. Disillusionment. And honestly, I feel them. I’ve been there too. I just looked back at my journey. It’s true—many junior dentists, like junior medical residents, are often overworked, undervalued, and paid far less than they deserve. Shifts blur into each other. Rest becomes a luxury. And in the middle of it all, there’s a quiet question echoing inside: “Is this all worth it?” But here’s something I’ve slowly come to realize after nearly 25 years in this profession… Dentistry isn’t just about skill. It’s about maturity, resilience, and clarity —and that comes with time, not just talent. When I stepped into practice as a fresh graduate, I thought I knew a lot. Maybe even everything. The textbooks were still fresh in my head, and my hands were eager to prove themselves. But there was something I didn’t understand then— diagnosis is an art, not just a pr...

 It was one of those days where everything seemed to converge into a whirlwind of activity. A fully booked schedule, a solo dentist on duty, and a hospital buzzing with patients. As I wrapped up a treatment and stepped into the reception area to welcome the next patient, I noticed a couple entering the hospital. The woman, visibly in pain, was clutching her cheek, wincing with every step. It was clear—this was a dental emergency. Before the receptionist even asked, I instructed her to open a file for the patient and signaled my second assistant to prepare the second operatory. Meanwhile, my first assistant had already set up the primary room for the next scheduled appointment. I quickly reassured the waiting patient that I would briefly attend to an emergency case and be back soon. She agreed with full understanding, having witnessed the distressed couple’s arrival. In the second room, I began to examine the walk-in patient. The patient’s husband accompanied her, concerned and prot...

Once, a female patient came to my clinic with a simple but nagging concern: mild pain while biting. I had previously performed a root canal for her, and following that, she had gone back to her general dentist for the final crown. A few weeks later, she was referred back to me. The dentist suspected the root canal might be failing. But when I looked at her X-ray, everything seemed perfect. The obturation was clean. No periapical radiolucency. CBCT was pristine. Before diving deeper, I called the referring dentist. He confirmed that the crown had been placed properly, checked for high points, and cleared using articulating paper. The patient was reportedly satisfied when she left his clinic. Even now, she reported no perceptible discomfort—just a vague sense of something being “not quite right.” I asked her one simple question: "Are you comfortable biting in your normal, centric position?" She answered yes, but just as she bit down, I carefully watched her face. Subtle—almost ...

A Question Worth Asking Some of the greatest shifts in medical science have come from a simple question: "What if we’re wrong?" In dentistry, we’ve long held onto the term "irreversible pulpitis" —a diagnosis that has traditionally led us down the path of root canal treatment or extraction. But what if this term no longer holds true in the light of modern regenerative possibilities? What if we’re dismissing the healing potential of the pulp too quickly? This post is for the curious clinician, the patient who wonders why antibiotics aren't always the answer, and every dental professional who wants to practice with both insight and empathy. The Shift from Removal to Regeneration Across the world, a quiet revolution is gaining momentum— regenerative endodontics . This approach questions the need to eliminate inflamed pulp and instead explores the possibility of reviving and restoring it. The dental pulp is no longer viewed as a passive tissue but as a dynamic, res...