(With apologies to Rudyard Kipling)

By Judith Sinclair-Cohen

The carious tooth is an ugly truth

Which well you may see in The Chair;

But uglier yet is the truth we forget

Of how it first came to be there.

Kiddies and grownups too,

Even dentists like me and you,

Can all get that tooth –

That ugly tooth –

The tooth of precarious hue!

It's sugar, pernicious and far from nutritious,

That will surely caries invite.

And frequent sweet sips passing through those lips

Can ruin your apatite (sic)

So - if you diagnose, an overdose of sucrose

(So bad for general health too)

Quite apart from that tooth –

That carious tooth –

You'll stave off diabetes too!

Thus, the cure for this ill is not just fill'n'drill,

Rather to minim'l intervention aspire!

And to repair – in haste – with fluoride in paste,

Then brush till you gently perspire.

Lest all lose their teeth (both above and beneath)

Here's something on which to chew:

Without further ado

Let ALL hear that truth -

'bout that carious tooth –

And to caries we'll say: Too-da-loo!

In memory of John Gerald Clement

Judith Sinclair-Cohen is an independent consultant in public health, living in Modi'in, Israel.

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 and contributors.