'Dr Mayekar is the one dentist I know who has made sitting on the chair the best experience ever'
-- Karan Johar
We use our teeth every day--to munch on an apple or carrot, to hold a pen-knife or a hairpin; we put them on display when we smile or laugh. But we rarely think about the strain we subject them to, rushing to the dentist only when our teeth cry out in pain. Or, sometimes, when they spoil the symmetry of our face.
Teeth may go missing while shooting for a Bollywood fighting scene. They may shrink to half their size because of too much cola intake. A person may commit suicide because of the buzzing in his ears caused by a strained muscle in the jaw. Dr Sandesh Mayekar has seen all this and worse. He has performed root canal on a two-year-old, done risky surgeries and implants on senior citizens, lightened a lady's dark gums for a beauty contest and sealed that wide gap between a cricketer's front teeth for a photo shoot.
More Than a Mouthful tells the stories behind those healthy teeth that you see on TV or on the big screen. Mayekar has stayed up nights, sometimes travelled miles, to address an emergency. He has assuaged patients' fears with as much clinical care as personal concern. It is also the tale of one man's determination to master his craft and lay the foundation of Aesthetic Dentistry in India--a journey that has taken him from humble beginnings in a chawl in Mumbai to the swanky Bandstand at Bandra.
Written with passion and laced with wit, More Than a Mouthful is what the doctor prescribes to rid you of that fear of the dentist.
Mayekar, Sandesh: - Prof. Dr Sandesh M. Mayekar is a postgraduate in TMD and Orofacial Pain from Tufts University, Boston, and a diplomate of the American Board of Esthetic Dentistry. He is an adjunct professor in the Department of Restorative Dentistry, Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, New Jersey, USA, and was an honorary advisor to the Armed Forces Medical Services, Government of India. Dr Mayekar is a dental surgeon and maintains a multi-disciplinary private practice in Craniofacial Aesthetics. He introduced the concept of 'smile design' in Femina Miss India beauty pageants with which he was associated as a consultant for two decades. Dr Mayekar's vision and passion for dentistry saw the launch of Aesthetic Dentistry in India. He is the founding president of the Indian Academy of Aesthetic and Cosmetic Dentistry and the first Indian to be elected as president of the Asian Academy of Aesthetic Dentistry. He is also the founding president of the Academy of Craniofacial Aesthetics in India and the Academy of General Dentistry of India. He is an honorary member of the European Society of Aesthetic Dentistry and the American Society for DentalEsthetics. He is an ex-faculty at the Government Dental College and Hospital, Mumbai, and the Padmashree D.Y. Patil Dental College and Hospital, Navi Mumbai, India. His leadership qualities have earned him much respect and acclaim at the Indian Dental Association and also as a senate member of the University of Bombay. He was associated with the Dental Council of India for seven years and was a member of its Executive Council for three years. He is an advisor to the Indian Institute of Continuing Education and Research, an organization that caters to the continuing education needs of professionals in the country, under the banner of ENCODE. He has an unquenchable desire to learn and an urge to teach and train, and devotes his untiring energy and time to update, upgrade and educate the dental professional in the country and abroad. He also conducts advanced dentistry programmes in India and abroad in collaboration with State University of New York, Buffalo, USA. Dr Mayekar has gained wide acclaim around the globe and has had the privilege of being an invited speaker on Aesthetic Dentistry in Korea, Japan, Brazil, USA, Taiwan, Canada, France, Singapore, UAE, Malaysia, Peru, Sri Lanka, South Africa, the UK, China, Indonesia, Israel, Pakistan, Ecuador and Mexico. He is a fellow of the International College of Dentists, Pierre Fauchard Academy, and the Academy Dentistry Internationalle (USA). He is an evaluator for Clinical Research Associates, USA. He contributes to national and international publications and has been a member of the editorial team of Reality Now, USA. He contributed to the 'Dental Wise' column of Femina magazine for more than a decade. He has carried out research and clinical studies for Colgate USA including a research study on 5,000 school children on caries control. Dr Mayekar has been honoured with a Vocational Excellence Award by Rotary International and felicitated by the South Asian Academy of Aesthetic Dentistry in Kathmandu, Nepal, for the development and promotion of Aesthetic Dentistry in South Asia in 2009.
