Here we are in Bangkok, our flight is tonight at midnight. Yesterday, we arrived at 6am, after the 12 hour night bus, tired and grumpy. We spent a quiet day lazing in the park and doing some souvenir shopping. I even made time to follow Littletree's good example and get my teeth cleaned at the dentist.
Now I have nice shiny white teeth, and a new vow to actually floss twice a day this time.
BUT the dentist said he can see a few of my molars are showing early signs of decay, and he thinks they should be drilled just a little and filled with a resin composite.
AAAAAARRRGH!
Okay, I'm already 29 years old and I've never had a cavity or a filling. not so much as a single toothache my whole life. Genetics, I suppose, coz it's surely not from diet or obsessive dental hygiene; I brush daily, but that's about it. LOL.
Amazingly, it's only 400 Baht per tooth, and to have both back molars, on both sides, top and bottom (so 8 teeth altogether, as he recommends), would cost only 3,200 Baht, or, wait for it... $100. You heard correct. One hundred American dollars. Actually, it's more like $97, what with the dollar being so weak at the moment.
The thing is, we fly out tonight, and I'd have to go do it now, and I can't decide!! Waaaah!
Obviously, I don't want to have fillings. I don't want to have my teeth decaying. yes. I know. Denial is a river in Egypt. I've been there. Could be that the dentist is just trying to make money.
But it's also possible that I really should get this done, and if I leave it, it will just get worse, and I'll get a toothache and have to pay a fortune to get it fixed in Australia.
So then I think, what the hey, just go for it. But can I expect Littletree to sit for an hour and a half while I'm in the chair? Do I really want to get on a 10 hour flight right after having dental work done?
Sometimes being a grown-up and having to make responsible decisions sucks.
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Good Morning Fairy:) (its 9am here)
ReplyDeleteI was just thinking You sound like You wanted another view regarding Your dilemma, so You come to a satisfying desicion more quickly...?Nobody knows, of course, what will happen...but when I read Your train of thought, I thought: *resin is good. I just went to the dentist for the first time in three years, and it turned out I picked the right one, she explained in detail to me how they use only natural materias for filling and even mix them only on a glass plate with a spatula made of agate stone, as to prevent tiny particles of metal or synthetics to remain in the mouth (where we carry it around all the time;). It was a naturopathic dentist clinic, and should I ever need anything, I will go back there. (I went there cause some people find my cheek is swollen, and she only found it has nothing to do with the teeth).
So, resin, I guess, is good! You might not have that option everywhere.
I don't know why flying would be a problem though? It sounded like just the filling, no op on the roots or anything critical (hat's the kind of op that needs to get done if it gets worse...).
What really amazed me though was that apparently You could just get another appointment straight away!? Well here in Germany, one can be very lucky to get one for the next week;)
So...that's my thoughts, in case it helps You decide. I wish You all the best either way:) I feel YOu don't need to worry, inshallah*Love&light:)
Hard one but honestly at that price I would jump on it purely after spending $250 on a single tooth just this week which we don't even know if that will save me from more work. If you can get back in and it isn't too late I can't see an issue with you flying afterwards:)
ReplyDeleteDental tourism is on my mind a lot these days thanks to another Thai travelin' Mama's blog and LT's positive experiences in the past. I say go for it if the dental staff is up for helping with LT. I'm seriously planning to book a flight to Chiang Mai when I can no longer put off my dental surgery :-)
ReplyDeleteTrying to post you a PM on JL and there's a glitch that won't allow it.
ReplyDeleteRe dental stuff. Check out the Alternative Kids Teeth yahoo group. They have info about how to remineralize your own teeth without modern dental interventions...
I've seen it work with friends :-)
Good luck!
TABSP
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Taggity tag tag tag TAG!
TAAAAAAAAAAAAG!
I too am having similar things. Nothing and now a few things coming up, I would jump at that price now as preventative care.
ReplyDeleteHi--I am Stella's Aunt Leggs. I went years without dental care because of a fear of dentists I have had since childhood when my dentist did fillings without anesthetic.
ReplyDeleteLast year, I finally swallowed a big girl pill and hauled my butt off to our local dental school clinic for treatment. 9 months later, my mouth is doing pretty well. One tip that the dental professor stressed to me is the importance of using an ultrasound tooth brush. If you can't afford the fancy one, then one from the grocery store will do. The key is that it has to be labelled SONIC. He said more or less that all other tootbrushes are crap and that he personally uses one himself. I bought the cheap one in the grocery store and after a month the dentist was happy with my progress.
I think you should go for it. Not only it is a bargain, it will also at least prevent you from having any further decay on your molars. As we know, once they start aching, those teeth would be the source of endless nightmares. So I say go for it.
ReplyDeleteJanessa Carlon