Saturday, March 28, 2009

The Ongoing Dental Saga....

It has been a month and I still haven't seen a dentist! You will recall that I attempted to see an English-speaking dentist a few weeks ago and got terribly lost but ended up singing Irish drinking songs with an old lady.

Then I canceled that appointment and after much internet searching found a dentist less than a block away from my apartment. Voila! I made an appointment 2 weeks ago and showed up on my appointment day to be told that it was next week. So on Wednesday this week I scrubbed my teeth and braced myself for my first dentist visit in 2 years.

I showed up and filled out forms. A hygienist led me into an exam room where I met the dentist. He is about 7 feet tall in my estimation and as wide as a door. He didn't smile. His name is Jurg. Kinda scary. He asked me what I needed and in my bad German I said something like "I lived in England for 2 years and didn't see a dentist. I think my teeth are very dirty."

He leaned my chair back and the friendly hygienist explained that they were going to make some photos of my teeth. I didn't know if they meant x-rays or what, but he stuck what looked like a pen in my mouth and suddenly there were photos of the yellowest bits of my teeth on a giant computer screen. Lovely.

He then grabbed a chart (luckily labeled in English) and spent about 20 minutes lecturing me on something and gesturing at pictures of rotting teeth. I managed to understand that I have "reversible gingivitis" and need a cleaning. I figured "duh, that's why I'm here." But then he handed me a brochure and the hygienist told me to think about it. I stared at her and said "So you don't clean my teeth today?" They chuckled as if this was some absurd question but told me I could make an appointment for next week.

So next Wednesday, after a month of questing, I may actually have a dentist appointment! Wish me luck.

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