(image credit: confident dental)

If you have been to a dentist in your life – which most us would have – you will know what your mind will get worried about : the pain when the doctor attends to your teeth. And in all fairness, why not? After all teeth are sensitive areas which when handled roughly will cause a lot of pain.

My quest in life was always to find at least one dental clinic which provided me with a decent experience. The last few times it was about taking out tooth or just dental cleaning. But I suddenly realized that I had caries – or cavities that were beginning to grow. I had to address it pretty soon and hence had to find a clinic to go to.

Dental Advice

Before I get any further with the actual topic a few things about teeth, and doctors attending to teeth and teeth products

• Teeth need to be cleaned every six months at the minimum and one year at the maximum
• This is about the time it takes for plaque to accumulate
• Brushing teeth is not helpful for removing plaque – but if done correctly it can arrest formation of plaque
• Any grooves in your teeth are typically the places where food can settle down
• This cannot be removed by mere rinsing and mouthwash or brushing – sometimes you need to put your finger and take out the food particles off the teeth
• It is very important to floss between teeth – but bear in mind its time consuming and its worth investing time to prevent food particles from accumulating
• If your gums are very weak and teeth feel like falling off there are technologies today that are able to reverse that trend – you need a good doctor to tell you all this
• The doctor that sees an adult is not the same who should be seeing a child – take of this when visiting a clinic
• A clinic that does not understand your prior medical conditions before attending to your current dental problem has inexperienced people
• The more harder you brush your teeth the toothbrush actually has a good chance to scrape your enamel out – so be extremely gentle with your teeth
• You need to brush longer and slower – not faster
• Mouthwash is known to have alcohol and lots of other chemicals and prolonged use of these means the bacteria in your mouth will get resistant and will no longer be able to protect your body
• A good doctor must recommend to you to discontinue mouthwash unless for medical reasons to last not more than a fortnight
• The key to having good teeth is to not let food particles accumulate in your teeth overnight each night and to brush slow and steady to ensure no food is stuck anywhere in the mouth
• There are lots of advances in the dental field today and each of these have a good amount of merits
• There are different types of fillings in the market – amalgam, resin etc – its very person specific on which ones will cause allergies to whom. So one solution is not for all
• Toothpastes have sugar – so for over 30 to 40 years we have all while growing up unknowingly consumed this sugar early in the morning
• Sugarless toothpastes are available – but you won’t feel like brushing with them unless you develop a taste for them
• Salt water rinsing each night is the best medicine for bad bacteria in the mouth and its the simplest you can follow
• Oil pulling helps to whiten teeth and generally remove dirt from teeth but not everyone can bear the taste of coconut oil in your mouth for too long
• There are a variety of anaesthesia available to address procedures like root canal or dentures which makes the whole experience painless – the better the doctor is aware you are in safe hands
• Cost of procedures is on the higher side and it is inevitable if you want good options – so be prepared to repair your teeth even for Rs.10,000 considering you have screwed it up for 30 yrs without taking care 
• Fluoride toothpastes have a risk of causing cancer but they are the best suited to reducing sensititivity
• A good clinic and panel of doctors is often successful only by word of mouth rather than general reviews

Confident Dental Clinic

Now are you confident you have good teeth ? Are you confident about your doctors and their level of skill ? Are you confident you will have less pain ? Mainly are you confident you are in good hands? Like people say, some humans have golden hands. This means they are adept and the work they undertake always succeeds with immense satisfaction to the people involved. Enter Confident Dental Care. Run by a very successful team and having two branches in Bangalore (Rajajinagar and HSR Layout) the clinic is headed by a person having success in his name : Saphal Shetty, an prosthodontist – or a person who restores teeth cosmetically.

Their long term vision states

To provide higher standards of affordable dental care with a commitment to excellence, using state-of-the-art technology, and having a highly qualified professional team.

And their mission states

To make a paradigm for excellence in dentistry and oral health in an ethical manner, within a comfortable ambience that also reflects clinical sophistication.

Every business has to go by its core values and Confident are no different. Let me tell you how I felt with respect to their core values

1. Every Patient Is Important.

You know they surely do business by this value when you enter their clinic – a very warm welcome followed by few queries and apologies on long wait times if any and a structured way of attending to patients.
These days a business in India never gives so much attention to detail – but when you live by your values then this happens automatically whether you want it or not.

2. Ethics Is Our Motto.

Whether it is timings or fees, or their professionalism I have no doubt in the way they go by ethics. Absolutely no deviation from ethical behavior in any manner.
This leaves patients very satisfied and glad to talk more to the doctors

3. Stay up-to-date with the latest technological and scientific advancements.

For any business to stay relevant in the market and especially so on the medical side, one has to understand and be abreast of scientific advancements all the time. Confident goes one step further. They educate not only themselves but also patients by running relevant videos on large TV screens in the clinic. This gives you the feeling that the panel is surely up to date on advancements in the field.

4. Respect The Patient’s Opinion.

Any business will flourish and earn good opinions from the community they serve only if they have a penchant for soliciting feedback all the time. And if the patient has an opinion – good or bad – the business has to address it. Patients’ testimonials and reviews of the clinic are good indicators of how people feel about the place. And I can confidently say Confident hears the patients and makes them feel very comfortable at all times. Not only when they are attending to your problem but even with follow ups and subsequent interactions. If the patient says something that may not be correct – they still respect it and clarify to the patient further. This needs a different level of rules of engagement keeping the point #1 in mind – every patient is important.

Further Google reviews of any place is usually very blunt – you find more negative reviews than any serious positive ones. Confident Dental Care bucks that trend. Every single review on Google is positive – something a business finds it difficutlt to get unless they walk the talk. – You can see for yourself :

Dental Reviews on Google

Agreed 36 reviews is perhaps insufficient to draw a conclusion and may not represent all of the people who came into the place for treatment. But when all 36 reviews are so positive it does give encourgement for others to try out the place. I myself was one such person who decided to meet them based on these reviews. Word of mouth works, but this was online !

I was personally attended by Dr. Kanya for caries and dental cleaning and polishing – and for all the previous times I have been through this painful procedure, this time it was mostly painless. Let us bear in mind that your teeth reacts to sensitivity based on how your body is structured. So this can vary from person to person. But my doctor was patient to pause the procedure whenever I felt pain until I could continue again. You need a sensible style of working to accomodate these things.

As soon as I entered the place an X-Ray was taken in order to determine the extent of damage. These are all proactive measures and should not be done on request. Any dentist needs to work with data and investment on equipment to give this data is more than welcome. Makes the whole experience more professional. The place itself is kept really clean – spotlessly clean at all times. They follow international standard procedures for storing samples, or other critical things in the lab.

The reason I tell you this is I have seen other clinics not far from this place which are rudimentary and handle the items in the work area without care. When my filling procedure was done, I was informed of the choice of filling that can be used for my case and my opinion was also taken for the same even though I came with half baked knowledge from WikiPedia

Through the procedure sometimes I felt cold and the AC was switched off on my request. Further the conversations doctor had with attendant was in whispers so as to not disturb me. Small things really go a long way to show how carefully work must be done. No shouting around the place, no chit chat and very serious and time bound for the sessions. Absolute focus is critical in these situations to ensure patient comfort and doctors went out of the way to make it so for me. Further no phone calls in between, even the light from the lamp was constantly adjusted so as not to cause discomfort to the patient.

Facilities in Confident Dental Clinic

The thing with this clinic and its people – they are obsessed with quality and cleanliness. They constantly take steps for patient comfort, education and keeping patient happy at all times. Only when you are obsessed about perfection you can attain excellence. I see that all the doctors here are trained the same way to maintain the same amount of ethical behavior. This deserves praise. No wonder then if you read some of the reviews by clicking the link here, you can understand that people who have returned to India from abroad have felt at home here just like the way they felt there. This is never easy for a business to attain. Global dental facilities in your local neighborhood.

I work with a Swiss company and am obsessed about the finer points in doing things in life of late. I can confidently say in this post that of the many clinics I have visited so far in Bangalore since my childhood – Confident Dental Care is the best by far when it comes to valuing patients time and opinion and creating a facility which is state of the art, clean and duty bound. The doctors soft skills, technical knowledge on the domain and the golden hands Dr.Saphal and his team has is the icing on the cake. I know that my teeth is in good hands for a long time to come. I will also take my entire family there in the longer run.

But what is more important is that the panel of doctors here have given me deeper and easy insights into how to keep my teeth healthy in the long run – these are not jargons, but things I can understand and easily do each day.

Thank you Confident Dental, I am so happy that there is a fantastic dental clinic in the most Dynamic City in the world – Namma Bengaluru !

(image credit: confident dental care website)

So far I did like the blue light filter setting which is rather cool, in addition to performace modes, private mode setting, and enhancements to power saving options.

Issues are bound to be there with any new update and till now I have faced only one problem which is a deal breaker for me. My fast charging has stopped now. And this is unacceptable. Are you facing issues after the upgrade? Leave your opinion in the comments below.

As we all know, Ford has launched its latest EcoSport model in India now, Of all the things we come to expect of the Ford Ecosport, the touch screen navigation system and cruise control are noteworthy. Below are some pictures from the Ford booth in the LA auto show end of last year showing this new model. For more information you can visit Ford India website

Ford launched and displayed their latest models of the Fiesta sedan, the Focus and Edge hatchbacks in the LA auto show recently.

With refreshing looks and colours, these cars are evolutions of their previous generations and it is expected that the Fiesta sedan would make its foray into India at some time.

With reasonable pricing and no nonsense driving DNA ford will continue to impress drivers and make their mainstay products more affordable for general city driving use

There is no one who suits a villian role in a movie as much as that of a hero than our very own Ajith (Thala). There are many movies made in Malaysia these days, and it becomes an instant magnet for me since it brings me back my old memories of staying there a decade ago. The latest entrant into that list is Kabali. Absolutely awesome choreography and choice of final fight scene locations. Bang next to the Petronas with a zoom out on the menara Telekom.

Flashback to an older movie Billa which was shot in KL and other locations around which I thoroughly enjoyed due to the sheer style quotient of Ajith. Sometimes he even beats Rajini in style and attitude including dressing. Billa 2 was the sequel and when you hear and understand the song Unakkulley Mirugam, you also feel the power packed punch in terms of lyrics delivered by Na.Muthukumar in this song.

I felt the need to translate this song for all you folks who do not understand tamil, and the next time I suggest you put on the headphones and listen to this when you are feeling low and life gives you lemons from all sides, and I bet it will lift your spirits to feel great and make you the achiever you always dreamt to be. Of course not all ways suggested by the song are right ways. But remember we are talking about life giving you lemons situation. So the lemonade thus made suits this situation alone 🙂

Unakkulae Mirugam, Thoongivida Ninaikum..
The animal within you, will think of sleeping

Ezhunthu Athu Nadanthaal, Erimalaigal Vedikkum..
But if it is woken up and starts walking, volcanoes will erupt

Kanavugalai Unarvaai Kaetu Athu Thudikkum..
It will ask you your dreams as its food, and will not rest until you give it those

Unnai Athu Vizhungi, Unthan Kaiyil Kodukkum
It will swallow you, and put yourself in your hands

Erikaamal Thaenadai Kidaikaathu
Without burning the bee hives, you will not get the honeycomb

Uthaikaamal Panthu Athu Ezhumabaathu
Without kicking the ball, it will not rise

Vali Athuthaan Uyirpiyaikum
Pain is the one that gets you a life

Ithuvarai Iyarkaiyin Vithi Ithuthan
Till now this is the law of nature

Naragam Athil Neeyum Vaazhnthal
In hell if you live

Mirugam Ena Maara Vendum
An animal you too will turn into

Bali Koduthu Bayamuduthu
Give a sacrifice and scare

Veta Veta Thalai Nimirthu
Hold your head up no matter how much it is severed

Ulagamathu Urundai Illai
The world is not round

Nizhal Ullagil Vadivam Illai
In a world of shadows, there is no shape

Ilakanathai Nee Udaithu Thati Thati Adai Nimirthu..
Break the identity (symmetry or form) and straighten it by sculpting it

Ingu Nanban Yaarum Illayae
There is no one called ‘Friend’ here

Èthirkum Pagaivan Yaarum Illayae
There is no one called ‘Enemy’ here

Ini Neethan Unaku Nanbane
You are your your friend

Èndrum Neethan Unaku Pagaivane
You are your own enemy always

Vali Athu Thaan Uyirpiyaikum Ithuvarai Iyarkaiyin Vithi Ithuthan
Pain is the one that gets you a life, Till now this is the law of nature

Muthal Adiyil Nadunga Vendum
The first blow must cause a shiver

Maru Adiyil Adanga Vendum
The next one must silence

Meendu Vanthaal Meendum Adi Marubadi Marana Adi
And if it comes back, hit again with the next one being a death blow

Adikadi Nee Iraka Vendum
You must die often

Marubadiyum Piraka Vendum
And be born again

Urakathilum Vizhithiru Nee Iruvizhi Thiranthabadi..
Even in sleep, you must sleep with both eyes open

Ini Neethan Unaku Thølaiyae
Now you are your own torture

Èndrum Neethan Unaku Èllayae
Always you are your own boundary

Nee Thøtaal Kizhikum Mullayae
The thorn that tears you on touching it

Valigal Irunthum Valikavillayae
Its painless even when you are in pain

Vali Athu Thaan Uyirpiyaikum Ithuvarai Iyarkaiyin Vithi Ithuthan
Pain is the one that gets you a life, Till now this is the law of nature

Na.Muthukumar is a genius lyricist and this song alone proves that point. He has got the flair of Vairamuthu who is the star of tamil lyrics and speech. It is sad that Na.Muthukumar is no more. But I will always remember him for this song.

This was a long pending post from my side and I finally found some time to write on this topic. I had a chance to plan a trip to Dhanushkodi and got the opportunity to stay at Astoria Hotel in Madurai for a day. This is a business hotel and I needed a stay only for a day so I chose the hotel.

A few notable things about this hotel are the following

• Its walkable from the railway station as long as you don’t have too much luggage
• Its preferred to take an auto from the station if you have kids
• It is situated somewhat nearby to the Meenakshi Temple in Madurai which is easily reachable by auto within 10 minutes

The front facade of the hotel is one vertical block which mostly present the corridor end windows and the conference room windows on the top floor. There is no access to the terrace as such for visitors.

The entry lounge is good with ample light and seating. This hotel offers 24 hours checkin and checkout with prebooking via multiple travel portals or directly via calling the hotel. I paid nearly about Rs.5000/- per day which is on the steeper side and includes breakfast along with the room. The rooms themselves were well appointed, but were kind of small. Since its a business hotel, the type of travellers mostly expected are the ones who stay in the hotel for about a day and move on to other places near madurai for their business needs.

To this extent the rooms offer the comfort necessary from the relentless heat of Madurai. Thankfully I landed there at a time when Madurai received some rainfall the previous day so the city had cooled down a bit from temperatures of over 38 deg C.

The rooms have thick and large curtains shielding all the harsh light coming in, have a study table with a suitable chair, and a small coffee table with a lounge chair. The beds themselves are a bit soft and springy, the types which you can sink into, though my personal preferences would tend towards slightly harder beds which are not known to aggevate back problems.

The television set is mounted on the wall and the wall also has shelves that hold the glasses and coffee maker. The bathroom is well appointed though the shower is not movable enough making it spray all the water all over the room. It could have been designed better though it does the job for a business traveller. The bath has dispensable soap machines which is the trend nowadays and in my opinion, I prefer this over hundreds of small soap cakes being produced that go a waste on daily basis.

These days hotels have reached a situation wherein you can also say whether or not you want the towels washed or not in order to save water and effort and I highly value this mode of working as it conserves resources.

The cafeteria was good and well appointed in terms of furniture. The breakfast was expensive on the second day, but on the first day it was complementary. I did use the room service once or twice and found it to be good. The people attending to you at the hotel are quick and respond pretty soon to your requests which is what a traveller looks for.

The food itself was good with lots of variety ranging from indian, western, veg and non veg options and was tasty too.

The Astoria Hotel has a view to die for and you can see the Madurai Meenakshi temple very well during the clear nights in the city. The central location, accessibility to Railway station and reasonably close from the airport (~ 10-12km) and a decent variety of rooms, food make this place a business friendly hotel.

If I go again to Madurai, I will stay in Astoria and would recommend this hotel to others too.