I remember a few years
back watching this tooth whitening advertisement on TV. A middle-aged Dentist walks into the waiting
room, only to discover that his next patient is a gorgeous Supermodel. She flashes him a sparkly smile, and he returns
an equally sparkly grin, as he ushers her in to the next room. The next scene sees the Supermodel reclining
back in the dental chair, and the Dentist slowly approaching her with the
standard silver chain and paper bib. He
opens the clasp at one end of the silver chain bringing it instead around his own neck
and clipping it securely to the paper bib on his chest. For some reason, it got taken off the
air. I thought it was hilarious.
Yesterday, I
went to the Dentist to have my wisdom tooth pulled out. After my HALF HOUR appointment, I left the
clinic with a slight tingling along the right side of my mouth, and the
offending tooth was handed to me inside a tiny, orange, ‘tear drop’ plastic capsule
shaped like a mouse, complete with whiskers and eyes! A novelty meant for younger patients no
doubt.
I was
astounded at how short the procedure took and that unlike my past experiences
with dentists back home, I was in absolutely no pain or discomfort afterwards. The dental team, bless their hearts do not
speak English, and as I don’t speak Japanese, it has been a problem in the past
explaining my ailments, and them in turn explaining what they can do about them.
The
receptionist is a lovely lady who was ready waiting this time with several handy
strips of paper, a single sentence, in English, written on each one, about my
appointment. As I lay in the reclined
chair, she held up the first strip of paper for me to read. It read, ‘Now injection anaesthesia’. I nodded that I understood. The Dentist injected anaesthesia in and
around my tooth without much fuss. I was
waiting for the needle to go in, but I didn’t feel a thing. The next strip of paper read, ‘Finish
injection anaesthesia’. I nodded again
but was a little bit nervous as I couldn’t be sure that the surrounding area in
and around my tooth had in fact been put to ‘sleep’. In the past, the effect of the anaesthetic
was tantamount to swallowing a loaded tranquilizer gun, like the ones used by illegal
poachers, on large, wild animals. Maybe the
Dentist would wait a while, until the anaesthesia really kicked in. He didn’t.
The next
strip of paper held in front of me read, ‘Extraction tooth’. I blinked a few
times to acknowledge the message although was still a bit apprehensive and
maybe a little panicky at this point. I started chanting in my head, ‘they know
what they’re doing… they know what they’re doing’. Maybe, now’s a good time to pray.
In the next
5-7 minutes, the dentist used several steel instruments that were carefully laid
out on the trolley and brought them to my mouth. He was very fast and still no pain. The dental assistant came at me with her
suction hose, and then a short time after that, the receptionist showed me another
strip of paper that read, ‘Bite hard gauze 30 minutes’ quickly followed by the
final strip of paper, ’30 minutes after, gauze garbage’. The dentist then put a piece of gauze in my
mouth and signalled to me to bite down on it.
All of a
sudden my chair was brought back up to its’ normal position. The Dentist turned away to write some notes, and
I’m sitting there wondering why we’ve stopped.
The Dental Assistant then hands me my glasses to put back on my
face. I’m a little confused, what just
happened? I look down at the trolley and am astonished to see, lying there
amongst the discarded instruments on a square piece of gauze is my tooth! There’s very little blood on it and I know
they didn’t have time to wash it. I
can’t even taste any blood in my mouth!
My mouth doesn’t feel swollen or tender.
I’m not drooling or self-consciously covering my jaw with my hand. I’m not doing anything that I’ve done in the
past following a dental procedure. Wow.
By this
time, everyone had moved off to their designated areas in the clinic. I rose from the chair and thanked the Dentist
who was still scribbling in my notes. I’m
surprised to find that I’m not suffering any temporary speech impediment. I’m talking normally, with the exception of
the gauze stuffed at the back of my mouth.
I honestly
cannot believe that it’s all over. My
appointment was at 4.30pm and I’m back in the waiting room, discussing a follow
up appointment with the Receptionist, and it’s now 4.55pm! I said to the Receptionist that the
appointment was very ‘fast’, and she gave me a half smile and nodded. I was very impressed, but this is obviously
the norm here. The Receptionist then
hands me a paper bag of antibiotics and another containing only 6 tablets for
pain relief, if I need any later. She
had written the instructions in English on the outside of each paper bag, so
there was no way I could get it wrong.
This was truly the best dentist appointment ever. There were no big dramas, or over the top
warnings that I might experience this or that.
No x-rays, no ‘call if pain persists’ comments. Very low key, very simple, and very quick. The next thing I know, I’m sitting at home in
front of my computer, kicking back and listening to some upbeat songs, while
waiting for my toast to pop up, that I fully intend to wash down with a hot cup
of black coffee. Later I destroyed a
cute tub of choc mint ice-cream.
When I spat
the gauze out of my mouth, I couldn’t help but have a closer look. It was a little bloody, but well below what I
would’ve expected from a tooth extraction, especially a wisdom tooth. I’m amazed.
I don’t know
if I’m relaying anything incredible, but past experiences with all things
dental, have never been anything but traumatic for me. At the end of each consultation, I’d be clutching
my mouth with one hand, an empty purse in the other, vowing never to return.
The local
anaesthetic used back home is highly potent, compared to whatever the dentist used
yesterday. I’m convinced now that the
anaesthetic needn’t be so strong. Whatever
the dosage of anaesthetic was yesterday seemed to be more than sufficient for
the purpose of immobilising the tooth, so it could be extracted easily. Maybe it’s a completely different formula
altogether. I don’t know, but if so, NZ
should place an order for a shipment to head south.
I’m all for
copying another country’s practice if it means less pain and suffering for the
average citizen, like me. It’s difficult
enough having to recover from whatever procedure you went through, without also
having to deal with the effects of the anaesthetic.
Back home, it
takes almost half a day for the anaesthetic to completely wear off, and in all
that time, you can’t eat or drink properly, and if you did, you certainly wouldn’t
enjoy it. You can’t do anything, because
you feel as if you’ve been ‘knee’ed’ in the face, so you just sit there,
dabbing at your mouth with a tissue every five seconds, praying that the
painkillers (you’re tempted to overdose on) will mercifully take effect soon. It’s a pathetic sight really, which annoys
me, as having now gone through the Japanese system it’s a situation that could
easily be avoided by employing the ‘less is more’ approach of anaesthetic that they
use here.
I
acknowledge that I’m no expert in this field and there are obviously other
factors that need to be considered.
However, when it comes to pain, I’ll happily go with the option that
offers less of it.
Yesterday’s
procedure set me back 1100 yen. That’s approximately
$13 NZD! Of course it’s heavily
subsidised with a Health Insurance Card, but still, that’s ridiculously
cheap. Back home, extracting a tooth,
usually costs between $150-$200, and that’s if it’s straight-forward. If you
go to an Oral Health department at a hospital, where tooth extractions cost
around $40, you’ll have to compete for an appointment with several hundred other
people who want to save a few precious pennies as well. If the clinic opens at 8.00am, you’ll need to
be there at 4.00am to ensure a place. It’s
like queuing up for concert tickets to see a band that you don’t even
like. You know they suck and you’d
rather spend your money on something else, but you’re left with no choice but
to go.
And yet even
the cheapest deal in NZ (which is also the most inconvenient) is still
significantly more expensive than Japan.
You have to wonder, what your $40 DOESN’T cover, for the fee to be so
much lower than what is usually charged by Dentists in NZ.
I’ve been to
the Dentist 12 times since I’ve been in Japan.
All those visits combined add up to approximately 4520 yen which is $54.99
NZD. Using a conservative estimate, that’s
slightly over a third of the cost of a tooth extraction in NZ!
Verdict: If you’re a foreigner living and working here,
take advantage. Get the smile you’ve always wanted for only a
fraction of the price.
As you can see, I’ve been
taking full advantage of the dental benefits here, hence my 12 trips already to the
Dentist! I'm just getting started.
No comments:
Post a Comment