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Dentist |
2008-10-03
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Faithful readers already know I am not the biggest fan of dentists. Last year in August I had an urgent problem, and my regular Spanish dental office apparently was closed all of August, without any information on what to do if I had an urgent problem, not on their voice mail and not on their website (which by the way was so broken that it scaled the flash animation to 10% of the page width, but I digress).
I ended up in the emergency dental office on Passeig de Gracia, and there I was helped very well by a very good young doctor. I felt I finally found the perfect dentist.
That is, up to the point where I got an infection on one of my teeth, and she told me it would cost anywhere between 2000 and 4000 euro to get the tooth pulled and a bridge or an implant made, and that it wasn't covered by my health care.
I guess that's when I decided to be stupid and try and get it fixed in Belgium. And for that I needed to make sure my health insurance was still ok in Belgium, and for that I needed some E-three-digit form that I still don't have my hands on after 9 months.
When last month the left part of my body started feeling strange I thought it was time to just go find a dentist and get it fixed, coverage or no.
My wishes for a dentist are pretty simple. It has to be a woman (from my experience I find they are usually more emphatical), I prefer them relatively young (I have this vague hope that they are more likely to be up-to-date with the latest technology) and it helps if they speak my language. Now that I live here in Brussels though, of course most dentists are French. And probably not that easy to get to.
Don’t be so discriminatory. My dentist who just retired due to age was all about the new technology.
Comment by Russ — 2008-10-03 @ 20:04
Do you also request pictures when you select a new dentist? :-)
I can recommend a good Dutch speaking one in Jette, but I’m afraid /he/ might not pass all your tests. ;-)
Comment by Luc — 2008-10-03 @ 21:41
Open wounds in mouth are very unlikely to get infected, as the drool is mildly antiseptic itself. It is quite rare that the doctors prescribe antibiotics after small mouth operations, and for a reason. In case you are worried, remember that salty water is very effective. Spurt your mouth gently with mildly salted water for a while couple times a day.
Comment by rawsausage — 2008-10-03 @ 22:41
Hey,
I feel your pain… Dentist experiences is always painful. Fortunately I’ve had a great dentist here in Toronto that has not been trying to rip me off, and has a schedule emptier than mine. When he (yes, he, and he’s okay) removed my wisdom tooth a few months ago he assured me that whatever happens is /normal/ and I need not calling him back. Alas, I was bleeding till late night until I went out to the drug store and some gas fixed it…
Comment by behdad — 2008-10-04 @ 00:18
umm, not gas. gauze?
Comment by behdad — 2008-10-04 @ 00:18