Friday, November 21, 2008

Da Count-Da Dentist


DA COUNT

This week I'm counting our dentist. Yep, you heard right. He is a former neighbor who has joked that because my girls and I have not a single cavity in any of our mouths he's never going to make any money on us. Isaac is his only hope and has provided a steady stream of cavities to fill and dental injuries to remedy. Through all of that our dentist has been friendly, personal, and encouraging such that when Isaac sees him in public the boy doesn't duck and run but gives a friendly hello.

This week the dentist proved himself again when Isaac was having awful jaw pain. He gave a very thorough exam and although he couldn't find anything definitive he offered some ideas and reassurance along with telling us to call immediately if the pain returned and tell the receptionist to work us in while the pain was still occurring. We went home and a couple hours later the pain hit like a ton of bricks. We called and high-tailed it back to the office where the dentist had a eureka moment as he very patiently conducted the same thorough examination a second time. It wasn't dental at all but a sinus infection with referred pain. Whoda thunk it? He offered to let us call the pediatrician's office from the front desk. I apologized for dragging Isaac in twice in one day but the dentist was reassuring as he said he was just glad to get to the bottom of the pain so it could be treated properly.

There are a lot of very frustrating things about trying to get decent health care in my area but this week I am counting having a dentist who has always been terrific, whether it's just a check-up or otherwise.

30 comments:

Bijoux said...

I like my dentist too - and guess what? I've never had a cavity either!

NYD said...

Bake that dentist a cake!

I have lived with a broken tooth for the past year. I have heard so many horror stories from dentists about their work that I find it difficult to walk into their offices.

S said...

Dang, he must have really been hurting. I am hoping the antibiotics are alredy working and he's feeling a bit better.

I loved my past dentist, but he retired and ran away to Guatemala. I had lots of dentist fantasies about him....

The dentist we have now is like the town goofball. Certainly an excellent dentist, and a really cool preson, but ALSO a goofball. For example, comes to work on his bike, in shorts, then dons his lab coat. Hairy legs sticking out under his lab coat! Hilarious.
And once you get him chatting, the appointment is going to take twice as long.
So, I always tell him he has to entertain me while he works, and oh he loves that. He'll start telling me all about his wife and kid etc....
And he lets me get a prize :D
I know Im such a baby.

Hope the jaw is much better soon!

lime said...

cocotte, maybe it's easy to like them when they've never drilled into our faces.

nyd, ouch, that sounds like a less than wonderful thing to endure for a year. i hope you can find a good dentist

s, the boy was in agony. he has a high threshold for pain but once it is crossed the entire county knows. definitely feeling better today, thanks. your guy sounds like a hoot! and a prize in and of himself.

EmBee said...

I'm off to see one of my favorite physicians today... Believe it or not my gynecologist. She is gentle, caring, takes time to ask and answer questions AND makes personal phone calls to find out how you're doing after a major procedure.

Let's here it for physicians who care.

I could say a lot of nasty things about our general family physician but this is Da Count, so we'll just leave it at that.

Kat said...

A terrific dentist? I didn't know they existed. ;)

furiousBall said...

I finally have a good dentist after many years of seeing Dr. Pain. Good dentists are muy importante

Anonymous said...

We used to have a "family doctor" like that and boy, does it make a difference! Yes, personable health care providers is a great count.

Akelamalu said...

A good dentist is worth their weight in gold! So glad he got to the bottom of Isaac's pain.

Mona said...

well I woulda thunk, because I suffered the same problem once.

Your Dentist neighbor sure does sound a nice person! :)

lime said...

embee, zowie...if that's you're fave doc then you really hit the jackpot!

kat, they do indeed exist and not in the realm of the tooth fairy

furiousball, glad you found an escape from dr. pain...*shudders at the thought of him

lecram, yes, knowing they see you as a person, not a case is huge!

akelamelu, very true

mona, oh ouch! you are too familiar with isaac's pain then.

Ed & Jeanne said...

I arrived late at a dentist appointment once and the dentist was miffed and tried to rush the novacain but it hadn't taken affect so he kept shooting me. I ended up with 5 shots and it left my mouth numb for the better part of the day...damn him!

Desmond Jones said...

We've been fortunate with dentists, I guess. We're on our third dentist now, having had two of 'em retire out from under us. But all of 'em have been good, caring guys.

Your dentist went WAY 'above and beyond', tho. A worthy count, indeed. . .

Lulda Casadaga said...

I hope he gets well soon...those sinus infections are killers!
Oh and since S mentioned fantasies...I must confess my first ever somewhat sexual fantasy (when I was a kid) was about my dentist. It was a father and son team and I thought they were both fantastic.
Sorry to say, today my dentist has a real southern drawl and I don't find anything about him sexy...except that he doesn't overcharge me... :Q

(M)ary said...

oh goodie for the good dentist! we want you to keep smiling for the camera on HNT!

Mojo said...

Well go figure. I've had referred pain problems before, but they were usually back related.

Not only is your dentist a good guy, he's obviously pretty damn sharp too to pick up on a sinus infection. Not exactly his field after all.

And I dig it that you took the time to tell the story. We don't hesitate to complain when things go wrong, but all too often we let it go unnoticed when somebody goes above and beyond. So good on ya for this one.

lime said...

ve, not very professional behavior on the part of that dentist. that's awful.

desmond, glad to hear you've been fortunate with good dentists too

lulda, not overcharging does ratchet one up a notch or two on the "sexy scale."

mary, flashin my pearly whites. :D

mojo, well, counting the good stuff we got instead of bemoaning the stuff we lack is what "da count" is all about.

Anonymous said...

I love my dentist. I do not exagerate. I truly love him. He is Greek, with a softly accented voice that calms my fear of needles. He has worked fulsomely on my teeth, preserving what few are left, bridging, crowning and preserving my denture free mouth. I have a horror of dentures, and will pay as much as I am able rather than wear those horrors.

When you find a good dentist...never let him go. Same can be said for Plumber,electrician or Vet.

Cheesy said...

I get to go visit the den of doom in January when I finally get dental from work! Oh the joy... gawd 5 years since my last visit.. he is going to read me the riot act. I better find my big gurl panties~~~

snowelf said...

Whew! Glad he could get to the bottom of Issac's pain--that does not sound fun. :( Your dentist is well awarded da count for sure!!

--snow

Logophile said...

Poor Isaac, glad he figured it out, that is awesome. I think he definitely deserves a count. I have good teeth too, so I don't worry too much about the dental thing, and Ive been remarkably fortunate with good dentists, after reading some stories here, yikes! Thank goodness

tsduff said...

I understand.... dentists are people too.

rosecreekcottage-carol.blogspot.com said...

I hate going to the dentist. I told him I'd rather be delivering a baby. He thought I was kidding. I wasn't!

Moosekahl said...

I hate teeth pain from a sinus infection. Ugh!

I hate the dentist. The dentist we went to as kids was mean. And not very kind with the novacaine either. So as an adult I wasn't very eager to seek the dentist. In Rochester though I found an amazing dentist. He put up with my phobias, his hygienist was amazing and when he made my night guard and my morning headaches went away I thought he was a genius. It's all about presentation!

BBC said...

I've had good ones and bad ones but none of them was able to save my teeth, all I did for years was help make them richer.

Ever hear a dentist say, "I'm sorry my filling didn't hold, I'll do it again for free." ? I never have.

I made them pull them out, and I damn sure don't miss them.

Queenie said...

I had the same dentist for 30yrs, who repaired my mouth after the car smash, which was no easy task and took several years. He's retired now, and unfortunately I'm still searching for a good one. Its great that you have such a conscientious one.

Anonymous said...

I thought I was having a problem with a filling my dentist put in andhe worked me in immediately, checked it out, did a set of xrays and ...there was nothing wrong. He said it may have been just a little bit of uneveness which wore itself off. The charge for all that? Not a penny. I love the man.

Anonymous said...

Apart from his choice of easy listening music while he works away, my dentist is fantastic as well. After some very bad experiences, I have become very fussy when it comes to dentists.

Hope Isaac's sinus infection goes away very soon. I had a couple of them myself, and know how painful they can be.

Commander Zaius said...

Now that dentist is someone who I would bend over backwards to stay his patient.

lime said...

moannie, i'm so glad you found a keeper who respects your goal.

cheesy, i went 3 years before i found this guy and he was sooooo nice about it.

snowelf, i felt so bad for the kid. he was in so much pain

logo, yes, good teeth are a count in and of themselves

tsduff, indeed they are

carol, LOL you poor thing

moose, i hope you can find and equally wonderful dentist now that you've moved

bbc, well, our dentist did not charge us for that second visit of the day, nor did he charge us for an earlier visit a couple years prior when we thought repair work would need to be done and he examined the boy and said there was no need for it, no sense in putting him through the pain ergo no charge for the visit.

queenie, hopefully you can find another good one. maybe the retired one would have a suggestion?

citizen, you've got a keeper there too

cosima, nothing wrong with being particular about any health care provider

beach bum, i have no intention of leaving his practice for any reason