A Dentist to Keep

I walked into the dentists office, to be greeted by a surly receptionist.  Her wrinkled face only exaggerated her surliness, but it wasn´t enough to ruin my day.   I took a seat in the waiting room, beside four other men, both with an anxious look on their face.  After a few minutes, I noticed two of them had both checked their watch, and were rather fidgety.  This did not bode well for a quick check-up at the dentist.

It was my first trip to a dentist in Argentina, so I didn´t know what to expect.  I picked this dentist at random, because I was unable to find a recommendation for anyone.  Sometimes you just have to have faith.

One hour later, the four people in front of me had passed through at record speed, and I was called into the dentist’s office.  As I walked away from the waiting room, I looked back at the chairs and couches where now 6 more people were waiting.

I sat down and my stomach tightened, as the consequence of all those medialunas and alfajors would soon come to light.   I was asked a few quick questions by the dentist, who frantically entered the information into the computer, while arranging papers on his desk, setting up his printer, and doing a few other odds and ends.   Although friendly and cracking jokes all along, I got the strange feeling my dentist was on about 8 cups of coffee, and had probably sped through dozens of patients in the same day.

A few minutes later, I was told I had three cavities.  He said he could fill all three right now if I didn´t want to have my mouth frozen – they were small enough that the drilling wouldn´t hurt.    This made me a little nervous, as I had never had any cavities filled in such a way, and it was pretty obvious this dentist liked to do things really quickly.  But, maybe this is the way things were done here, and who likes having their mouth frozen anyway??

Fifteen minutes later, my cavities were filled by hyperactive hands, but luckily the dentist spoke true there was very little pain.  Feelings of surprise, relief, and suspicion flowed through me, as I was quickly showed to the exit and told to return in a week for a full cleaning.   All I could hope for was that my cavities had been filled properly, and although this dentist didn´t seem the most reliable, I was happy to have had all that work done in very little time, without the awful feeling of a frozen mouth.

Fast-forward three years later, I have been to three other dentists.  None were quite the same as Dr. Hyperactive, but they were all completely different.  One of these, which was in a Swiss Medical Center, told me I had five cavities.  She could only fill one cavity each visit, and once all my cavities were filled, I could make an appointment for a cleaning.  That meant 6 more visits….oh and she then mentioned she is only available on Mondays.  Guess what?   I  never went back.

Most recently, I found a dentist to keep.  She had a professional looking office, I was in and out in 30 minutes, which included a check-up, one filling, and a full cleaning.  This was all done in a slow, methodical manner, and trust was gained.

Just like it can take a while to find the right doctor, the same goes for a dentist.  Luckily, I have found the dentist for me.

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