I'm blogging lately about medical care, so our next stop is the dentist's office. Also known as the Zahnarzt.
I had my preliminary appointment today, called the Kontrolle. In general, one does not have the cleaning and checkup at the same time. I'm not sure why. It could be related to insurance, that a patient must have the examination before any treatment can be suggested. I forgot this when I originally scheduled, so we had the 10 minute Kontrolle this morning with Ada in tow. Drew took the older monkeys to school. Next time, I will schedule both for the same day.
Ada is a breeze for a quick appointment like this. I am thankful she'll sit with a Where's Waldo book and be happy to just watch.
Dr. Stuebel sees a couple of potential cavities, so she wants to do an x-ray.
At this point, I realize she's speaking to me entirely in German, though I am speaking English to Ada. Here I am again in this no man's land. I can speak some German and generally understand what is being said to me, but I really prefer English when it comes to medical care, so I specifically seek English speaking doctors.
She wants to know if we can do an x-ray.
No problem. Then I remember that here in Germany, x-rays are treated VERY carefully. In fact, most people carry a booklet with them containing ALL the x-rays to which they have been exposed.
Average American? Not so concerned.
Let's go. Ada is even gracious enough to wait in the exam room while I traipse to the x-ray room for my quick shots of 2 teeth.
Good news. Only one small cavity, which hasn't worsened much since we left the US last January.
Dr. Stuebel rattles off an explanation of the x-ray before me on the computer. I think I get most of what she's saying, so I respond with, "So the black part is bad?"
She continues in German.
Oi.
I think I understand most of what she's telling me. I hate to ask her to switch to English, but I'm a little dumbfounded that when I try to confirm with her in English what's she's telling me, she just continues in her Schwabish dialect.
Next, I ask her about a quirky problem I've been noticing for the last few months. Excess saliva in my mouth. Not a huge problem, but noticeable and irritating.
She continues in German and I quickly surmise that she believes it to be a psychosomatic problem.
Just stop thinking about it? Gotcha. My ENT assured me that getting over my cold and some sage tea would surely do the trick.
I'll soldier on. No problem.
So we're out in a few minutes, ready to schedule the next appointments, as they can't do the filling right away.
I ask if we can schedule both the cleaning and the filling on the same day?
No, that would be FAR too long of an appointment.
(Sigh.)
Ok, then 2 appointments it is.
We have to wait about 4 weeks, but hopefully Ada will be up and running in Kindergarten so that I can make an appointment without a child in tow.
I really like our dentist. Her office is well run, immaculately clean, and she is familiar with the American style of dentistry. She is fantastic with children. She's one town away. Her office is wonderfully accommodating. I have not had a filling with her, but Drew has.
We know that we need to ask for more pain medication up front and will happily pay for it.
Dr. Stuebel only wants to give the bare minimum of pain medication prior to drilling a hole in my tooth. She is concerned about my mouth being numb for a long period of time after the filling.
I am happy to feel that my face is sliding off my skull, so long as I don't feel that drill on my nerve, thanks very much.
I have learned to be VERY forceful about pain medication here. I know that it's a real cultural difference. I am happy to be the typical American taking all manner of drugs to manage pain.
I'm over that.
I had an experience once at a German emergency room that involved cutting out my fingernail and screaming.
Very. Bad. Memory.
I'm done with pain. I get that it's culturally different, but I'll happily endanger my system.
So I'm ready for my filling. She's a wonderful dentist and I can't wait for Ada to have her little baby teeth sealed. They want to do it in 4 appointments, but I'll be pushing for just one. Ada's a champ, just like her brother and sister were when they had them sealed at the same office.
The big pain comes when I have to file for reimbursement with my insurance company. Now that's a part time job...
Next stop? I'm thinking orthodontia....
