Her family dentist always paints the worst case scenario of what could happen during surgery. But her family members realised over the years that none of the terrible situations ever occurred when they sat in the dentist’s chair. In fact, they continually experienced swift and effective dental treatment from him. Every visit to the dentist is thus a cycle of bracing oneself for the horror of horrors, followed by great relief that nothing slightly horrible happened.
Now, is this dentist a truly good one? Would a good dentist need to unwittingly scare his patients? But should a good dentist not do so, as part of being realistic, to cover his a*s well too, in case a disaster happens? Subject to debate perhaps, though the best way to cover your a*s is to do a damned good job. Sometimes, this includes doing a damned good job of covering your a*s? As mentioned, it’s subject to debate. Maybe he could instill confidence by stating the success rate – after painting the worst that could happen. Would that be a Middle Path of sorts?