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Lately, my dentists have been quite some characters.
Office #1, Columbia Dental Associates, Monday last week:
Hygienist, ~35yo woman, Spanish accent I could barely understand. After a very bloody cleaning, told me: "You need to floss more... Or, start with the daily fluoride wash."
Dentist #1, ~60 yo strong-accented Caribbean woman wearing bifocals (or rather, a telescopic lens on top of each lens). It was weird that I couldn't see her eyes. Saw me for ~5 minutes. Made fun of my forgetfulness. Looked at X-ray, disagreed with the hygienist's preliminary opinion: "There are two cavities to the dentine. It is what it is. You're gonna get seen by the boys next week... Boys your age."
Unsatisfied with having my teeth drilled by "boys my age", with the rather low-tech office with a >3 month waitlist meant for Columbia students who don't have a dental plan, and with English that I had trouble understanding, I signed up for a DHMO and went to...
Dentist #2, Friday this week, ~70yo possibly Jewish man from NYC with a big smile, saw me for 10 minutes (I was in a hurry). But first I had new X-rays taken, by a very stressed-out nurse.
Dentist: "What's your name, brother? You're 30? Still in school? That hygienist did a really good job. I don't see anything. If nothing shows up on the X-rays, you go home. [Looks at X-rays] I'd say there's nothing even worth watching. Just take it easy with the flossing on the upper left side."
G - the other dentist saw two cavities.
"bullshit! You have virginal teeth. Get outta here! And go get a job, you bum! :-)"
He reminded me of shitmydadsays.
His office was chaotic and there were no doors anywhere, neither the X-ray room nor the dentist's office. The X-ray nurse got into an argument with another nurse about unlabeled X-rays. Dentist said: "Don't worry, Princess. If that happens, you can blame it on me. Tell them I moved it."
I suppose I could wait 6 months to have another examination... but OTOH, if the first dentist is right, I'm letting my teeth rot away. Then again, Columbia Dental Associates has a reputation of being overly aggressive (even more so than American dentists in general).
Office #1, Columbia Dental Associates, Monday last week:
Hygienist, ~35yo woman, Spanish accent I could barely understand. After a very bloody cleaning, told me: "You need to floss more... Or, start with the daily fluoride wash."
Dentist #1, ~60 yo strong-accented Caribbean woman wearing bifocals (or rather, a telescopic lens on top of each lens). It was weird that I couldn't see her eyes. Saw me for ~5 minutes. Made fun of my forgetfulness. Looked at X-ray, disagreed with the hygienist's preliminary opinion: "There are two cavities to the dentine. It is what it is. You're gonna get seen by the boys next week... Boys your age."
Unsatisfied with having my teeth drilled by "boys my age", with the rather low-tech office with a >3 month waitlist meant for Columbia students who don't have a dental plan, and with English that I had trouble understanding, I signed up for a DHMO and went to...
Dentist #2, Friday this week, ~70yo possibly Jewish man from NYC with a big smile, saw me for 10 minutes (I was in a hurry). But first I had new X-rays taken, by a very stressed-out nurse.
Dentist: "What's your name, brother? You're 30? Still in school? That hygienist did a really good job. I don't see anything. If nothing shows up on the X-rays, you go home. [Looks at X-rays] I'd say there's nothing even worth watching. Just take it easy with the flossing on the upper left side."
G - the other dentist saw two cavities.
"bullshit! You have virginal teeth. Get outta here! And go get a job, you bum! :-)"
He reminded me of shitmydadsays.
His office was chaotic and there were no doors anywhere, neither the X-ray room nor the dentist's office. The X-ray nurse got into an argument with another nurse about unlabeled X-rays. Dentist said: "Don't worry, Princess. If that happens, you can blame it on me. Tell them I moved it."
I suppose I could wait 6 months to have another examination... but OTOH, if the first dentist is right, I'm letting my teeth rot away. Then again, Columbia Dental Associates has a reputation of being overly aggressive (even more so than American dentists in general).