The Price of Wisdom

One day, a man walks into a dentist’s office and asks how much it
will cost to extract wisdom teeth.

“Eighty dollars,” the dentist says.

“That’s a ridiculous amount,” the man says. “Isn’t there a cheaper way?”

“Well,” the dentist says, “if you don’t use anesthesia, I can knock it down to $60.”

“That’s still too expensive,” the man says.

“Okay,” says the dentist. “If I save on anesthesia and simply rip the teeth out with a pair of pliers, I could get away with charging $20.”

“Nope,” moans the man, “it’s still too much.”

“Hm,” says the dentist, scratching his head. “If I let one of my students do it for the experience, I suppose I could charge you just $10.”

“Marvelous,” says the man, “book my wife for next Tuesday!”

The Visual Aid Doesn’t Help!

Patient education is always a joy. I was explaining to a patient the importance of following the directions on their new medication regime. One medication in particular had to be taken on an empty stomach.

“Does it say that on the label?” the patient asked. “Because I probably won’t remember.”

“Sure does,” I said. “See this warning label? It even has a picture of a stomach on it so you remember!”

“That’s pretty gross!” the patient said.

“Just be happy none of these are suppositories!” I replied.