Happy seeing the dentist?

Sat 01/28/06, Chinese New Year eve. Dentist appointment. Happy?

Actually, I started off a bit annoyed. I am not afraid of the dentist, just never thought it to be necessary. The last time I visited one was back in….wait, I forgot.

Anyhow, as you know, in the US, you get insurance for every little thing, including dental coverage. Since I am already paying for it, why not use it, right? Actually, Wan was the one pushing me for it, and made the appointments for both of us. She heard of the Cerulean Dental Spa which was ravely reviewed by colleagues. Hah, dental spa?!?

Anyhow, we went to this upmarket area called Rivermark, a masterplann development, where townhouses costs USD700k upwards. That’s where the dental spa is located. Before seeing the dentist, of course, there are 4 different forms to sign-off, with contact details, medical history, allergies etc, plus waiver if you die on the chair. Actually, no lah. No waiver like that.

That’s when the fun begins. Really.

First, I was brought to a nice leather reclining lounge seat and they had a 40” flat screen TV mounted in front of it, on the wall. Then, the dental assistant came by, introduced herself, and told me what she was going to do next. Took blood pressure (why does that affect my teeth?), took digital x-rays and a panaroma x-ray, both digitally. Then, they played a video that explains what will happen next, and why.

The dentist then came by, introduced himself, and explained step-by-step, what they will do, and why. Does your dentist ever tell you why they are doing stuff they do? This is a brand new experience!

Then, he did a periodontal probe, measuring the distance between my gums from my teeth. They even have a scale for it. 1, 2 or 3mm is good and 4 onwards is bad. Next, he did a cavity scan, using a laser probe! Something called a Kavoscan or something like that. Any readings higher than 15 on the scanner is not good.

Next, this is incredible…. He showed my on the TV, the x-rays of my teeth, with the associated periodontal probe readings and Kavoscan readings imposed on each individual tooth. I wish I had photos to show you, but I don’t. Then the dentist proceeed to explain what it all means, which tooth needs work, etc.etc. All that does not happen now, but is scheduled over my next 4 visits. I need some fillings done. They will remove my old silver fillings (made with mercury, dangerous stuff) and replace them with new ceramic plastic types.

Then, he introduced another dentist, who would be doing the actual cleaning.. You know what the dental assistant brought me? A menu selection of DVDs to watch while the cleaning goes on!! They had like 2 full menus of movies and TV series to watch!

I chose ‘Scrubs’, the very very funny TV sitcom. Was laughing while the dentist was cleaning and polishing my teeth!! And I had to laugh during that time. Swallowed some minty polishing agent, but that’s alright. She even flossed my teeth after the polish. Have you ever had this kind of service?

Of course, when the bill came, that’s a shocker. The first trip was fully covered by my dental insurance, but the next 4 trips will cost me slightly over $1k, coz I would have fully utilized my insurance coverage. I think I will split it into 2 years to do those work……

Man, this is one dental trip I don’t mind going again. I know more about my teeth than my last 30 years!! What technology can do……