Can cleavage replace novocaine?

A Munich dentist has come up with a novel way to help male patients get over the fear of the dentist's chair: cleavage. Dr. Marie-Catherine Klarkowski got the idea when she watched men leer at waitresses wearing low-cut, traditional Alpine-style dirndl outfits. Now she's wearing one to work, and so are rest of the women who work at her practice, Relax & Smile. "The sight of cleavage gets patients narcotized and distracted from the pain rather quickly," says Klarkowski, as quoted in Britain's Metro. "Some of them have their mouths open from the time they come in." Brilliant, sexist, or just weird?

All of the above: It is not exactly earth-shattering news that a glimpse of bosom will leave men's "jaws agape," says Wency Leung in the Toronto Globe and Mail. So it should hardly come as a surprise that Klarkowski's racy gimmick is, indeed, luring people to get their teeth checked. Business is up by a third at her clinic since Klarkowski and her hygienists started donning dirndls, and, predictably, all the new clients are men.

"Dentist shows cleavage to distract patients from pain"

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It is hard to argue with success: The fact is "many blokes are still scared of going under the dentist's drill," says Ian O'Doherty in the Irish Independent. "I'm not sure how much consolation the sight of a pair of boobs would be if you're going in for root canal treatment," but apparently it's working for some patients. Regardless, kudos to Klarkowski "for thinking outside the box."

"Oh, very clever lads. Well done"

Sorry, boys. This is unprofessional: Klarkowski insists she's just being "thoughtful," says Evalynn J. Saeyang at Gather. But flaunting your cleavage — and making your employees do it too — is unprofessional, and strange. Besides, the main goal here seems to be seducing new patients — "it's not all about easing one's fear of a dentist's drill, it's about the money."

"Dentist: 'Bares cleavage to ease fear'"