Tuesday, December 18, 2007
THE TOOTH FAIRY
I went to my new dentist today. Recommended by my MD.
There was 'trouble' in the changeover to the DMD or DDS approved by my ex.
It was like stepping into the 21st Century!
Panorama digital X-rays. Computerized records. A thriving job shop of dentist and technicians.
A factory of dental apparatus and procedures.
An assembly line.
An all stop shop.
They do everything but braces. No going outside.
Culture shock.
And a shock to the realities of my own dental condition.
Bad.
I have always been extraordinarily healthy except with the teeth.
They are a source of continued vexation.
I also suppose that I have not always had the best dental care either.
This new guy was not accusatory but he didn't do much to dispel the notion that I have had the equivalent of witch-doctor care.
I emerged with a plan.
He is flexible. Reasonable about the issues of throwing good money after bad.
He pointed out (convincingly) that I will end up with plates (he did not add "if you live long enough") but he reserved this prophecy for the upper set.
The lower set is salvagable if I do certain things. Caps. Shit like that. Bone buildup.
I went today because I had trouble. I had planned on a cleaning and meeting of the minds in February.
An infected tooth had its say and so I went today. Since I am new he had to do the whole thing anyway. Or, rather, they did. A panoply of assistants and technicians.
I liked him when I finally got to him and while it is not unusual to get a lot of upselling from the hygienist I found him very low pressure, professional and even likable. Imagine.
So.
I will go in on January 8 to have the sick tooth out.
Get this.
I will go in the morning for a mold to be taken of the tooth.
I will go back in the afternoon at 300 PM to have the tooth extracted and my partial with the new tooth will be ready to go back in my mouth.
That kind of high tech, factory oriented, consumer centered dentistry.
I am not so sure that I will like the rest of what will come but we agreed that it can all be strung out over time.
I am still thinking that one over.
Oh.
Money.
At market. About the same as John has been paying.
I have had it less expensive, I know, but then it looks like I have been getting down market care no matter how amusing Dentist Mike has been.
End of report.
I am on antiibiotics for the infection and that will settle the thing down in the interim.
Not bad for a dentist who has a huge tooth in front of his office. One of the other reasons I went there.
