Sir, on a lighter note and in response to your correspondence about inappropriate and questionable comments made by a 'macho' man undergoing dental treatment by a female dentist, I recall an incident, nearly 40 years ago, that caused some amusement at the time but on reflection could now be viewed as 'sexism'.1,2

I was a lecturer in oral surgery at the time and my husband was a mature but junior dental student. He had been struggling to extract a particularly stubborn lower molar and I intervened. After application of judicious force and technique, the tooth finally yielded. My husband later reported that his patient, a mature gentleman of large stature, had commented, about me, 'She was bl**dy good but I wouldn't want to be married to her'. My husband had wisely decided that any response would be inappropriate.