I’ve got dentistry on the cheap down to a science.
Today I’m being kicked up a notch. Today’s the birth of an era. Today begins D DayS. Dentist DayS.
Back-to-back days. That’s right.
Today I’ve got an appointment with Dentist Lynn.
And tomorrow I’ve got an appointment with Dentist Nick.
Two dentists in two separate locations. Each appointment,coincidentally, at 2 p.m.
And yes, I can refer to them on the first-name basis. Because I’m the Dental Queen who’s been glued to the dental chair since roughly age 10. Which was light years ago. So I get to know my dentists very well.
I love my Dentist Nick. He embodies the qualities that I, so plagued by teeth issues and genetics, value and need. He’s highly skilled. Thorough. Meticulous. Intelligent. Communicative with none of that superiority crap you encounter from some medical practitioners. He's honest. There are plenty of unethical dentists out there who’ll claim you need a crown or a tooth pulled for the bucks.
I’ve never been to an unethical dentist in my life. Why? Because I’ve got the instinctive detective nose for a skilled one.
So why two dentists on back-to-back days? A legitimate question and I shall answer that question from inquiring minds.
(A) Money.
(B) Level of work ahead.
To A: Dental visits are not cheap. Even the standard cleaning and X-rays are a week’s disposal income for this girl. I’ve got no insurance – zip, nada. All costs fall on these already overburdened shoulders.
By a fluke, I spotted an ad in the paper by a dentist offering a special. They told me when I called full of shame about the condition of my teeth and gums due to NO MONEY during my terrible nine months of unemployment that they offer these recession specials, as it were, because so many people are in my boat. That’s cool.
So today is with Dentist Lynn. Our first meeting. Thanks to her special, the X-rays I need are far cheaper than they’d be at my usual dentist. So I will be saving some bucks. And I need to because I’m facing Very Expensive Treatments ahead. Exactly what they are and will cost remain to be determined. Ouch.
I’m not gonna get all graphic on you. We’re far beyond only teeth. Now it’s periodontal too. And I’ve got no one to blame but joblessness for nine months. I assure, being a functioning indigent is not easy.
And in view of the extensive treatments ahead, a second opinion is valued and so I’m eager to hear Dentist Lynn’s assessment. By the way, those aren't my teeth. Plus I've got 20 times the amount of gold.
Then tomorrow — same time different day — I’m in the chair at Dentist Nick’s office.
With the cheaper X-rays from Dentist Lynn.
And for his evaluation of my shameful teeth and gums in one quadrant. Thank god for minor miracles that it’s only one quadrant!
It’ll be interesting to see how the evaluations and suggested treatments from the two compare.
So today marks the official end of indigent Home Dentistry since I’m employed and hope to remain employed and have a tiny bit more disposable cash to put toward this matter on the back burner for almost a year.
Perhaps in the days ahead I’ll produce that list of folk remedies for dental ailments. I’m the unofficial unpaid author of that book. In the meantime, I’ve got that stack of paperwork still to fill out for Dentist Lynn in an hour so off I go.
Fun days ahead: Not. Gratitude for a job that enables at long last dental treatment: a spilling mouthful.
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