What are the chances you would ever see your dentist brushing his own teeth? One in five thousand? 62,089 to 1? If you guessed even “extremely remote” you would be right. But, like the chances of being born on Leap Day (one in 1,461), it happened to me.
I was at the office for a mid-morning dental hygiene appointment, making my way down the hall, when out walks Dr. Cutie (not his real name) in his long white lab coat, actively – vigorously! – brushing his teeth!
I froze in my tracks and stared. He stopped, too, looked at me, and continued to push the toothbrush so deeply inside his mouth, it poked out his cheek. You’d think I had just seen a ghost. Or Jimmy Hoffa. Or Madonna near a statue of The BVM. But it was just my handsome young dentist, working his Hidden 32.
“Oh my God! You’re brushing your teeth!” I exclaimed loudly with the certainty and confidence of only The Deeply Astute. He stared back, smiled, and responded with an equally insightful, “Mmm hmm”.
I don’t know why, but I couldn’t get thoughts about this unexpected sighting out of my head. It seemed so incredibly bizarre. Really, what are the chances?! Immediately following my appointment, in the car, on my smart phone, I searched for the answer.
Do you know that the chances of having triplets are one in 726? Or that the likelihood of playing in the NBA is slightly better than one in a million? I’m sure you’ve read that the chance of being struck by lightning (in the U.S., in any one year) is one in 700,000. The odds of bowling a Perfect 300 Game? 11,500 to 1.
It wasn’t for lack of trying, but I never did find the answer to the question about the odds of catching my dentist in the act. But I must say, I am feeling better about playing PowerBall.