He was one of the best dentists in Prague then, close to impossible to get an appointment with.

I was lucky.

I still remember waiting in the dentist’s chair, quite uncomfortable. You see, getting Novocain was considered a luxury back in the eighties in my home country – the drilling was therefore a quite painful experience.

It all reminded me of the years of “government preventive care program for schools” we went through during elementary school. 

That terrifying knot in my stomach

The one that appeared every time we got hoarded (class of about 30 kids) during the school hours to the dentist’s waiting room. Every 6 months kind of exercise. Never announced ahead of time so the kids couldn't stay home to avoid it.

I could still hear (and feel) the sounds of the drill and scared cries of my classmates,  the “lucky ones”, already inside.  (Hope you caught my sarcasm here). We all had to sit through it. Whoever was...