As I mentioned here a couple of days ago, I’ve got a toothache. A really BAD toothache. I wasn’t able to get in to see a dentist yesterday, so I was looking forward to today at 1:00 with great anticipation. Here’s how the next 3 1/2 hours of my day unfolded. (with pictures…so you can enjoy the adventure with me!)
Since I was a new patient, I was asked to arrive 30 minutes early to fill out the necessary paperwork. I arrived right on time to find the office door locked. So, I went back to my car, listened to some music and waited for someone to arrive.
At 1:00…I was STILL listening to music and waiting. Finally, at 1:05, the dentist arrives in his SUV with his entire staff in tow. We head inside where I am immediately asked; “How are you today?” - After a 30 minute wait with a throbbing toothache, many creative answers ran through my head…but since I knew they would see where I worked when I filled out the paperwork, I figured I’d play it safe and respond to the question by saying; “sore”.
For the next 20 minutes I enjoyed this beautiful view.
By 1:40, I was finally sitting in the dentist chair. Still sore, a tad irritated and ready to start grabbing dental tools and yanking out anything that hurt. The assistant walked in and was really wonderful. My irritation was beginning to fade. She took an x-ray and said Dr. Ghandi will be right in. Fantastic! I sense progress. A few minutes later, in walks a man I assume was Dr. Ghandi. He had a mask, latex gloves and stood over me in total silence. I just sort of stared at the dental tools… It was all a tad spooky. Once his assistant arrived and told him who I was and what I was in for…he finally began to speak.
Within a minute he said; “You have a fracture in your tooth and will need a root canal. I’ll send you to a dentist to have that done.” Excuse me? Aren’t you a dentist? I could have told you I needed a root canal and saved us all a whole lot of trouble! Thankfully, in walks yet another friendly assistant who was nice enough to call and get me in to see the “other dentist”. So, off I go. It’s been nearly 2 hours since my adventure began. I’m still in pain. I’ve been diagnosed with a problem I already knew I had. An now I’m heading out to meet my 2nd new dentist of the day.
By 2:45 I’ve arrived at the new place. Much better lobby view than the first. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a more beautiful dental office in my life. This place was SWEET! My first thought was that my tooth was about to pay for their next expansion project.
None the less, everyone was extremely helpful and had me in a nice cozy dental chair/lazy boy recliner within a few minutes. This place even had a TV in the ceiling so I could check out CNN while my dental issues were explored. I had a nice visit with one of the assistants who happened to be a Christ Follower. An unexpected moment of fellowship in the middle of a toothache!
After a while, in walks the friendliest dentist I think I’ve ever met. He put me at ease and made all my earlier irritation vanish. After looking at my pictures, and rooting around in my mouth for about 10 minutes, he comes back with a shocker…”I could give you a root canal, but I don’t believe it will work. You’d most likely be right back here in a month.” He spent the next 20 minutes showing me the x-rays and explaining every detail of what was going on. He carefully explained my options, showed me why a root canal was a bad idea and was upfront with what each option would cost. Now I see why he can afford such a sweet office…he’s a really great dentist…oh and he also gave me something for the pain!
So, in the end, I’m having the tooth extracted in the morning. It’s so far back in my mouth that no one will notice and it will end up costing me a couple hundred bucks as opposed to 2 to 3 thousand. By tomorrow afternoon, this will all be but a happy memory…sort of.
