Yun and I went to the dentist yesterday. Never fun and yesterday was not an exception. The last dentist I went to here in town was horrible. That dentist told me that I had four cavities. That was disturbing to hear. I wanted xrays. He told me he didn’t need to do xrays to verify what he saw. My eyes weren’t seeing what he was seeing, so I wanted an independent verification. He scoffed that I would even ask for such a thing. I guess I’m a natural skeptic and the fact that he was in his early 20s and given his demeanor, I wasn’t impressed. Unfortunately in Mexico, it seems anyone can call themselves a dentist or doctor. Despite the lack of credentials. That makes it incredibly difficult to find a competent dentist.
Yun and I had resorted to reputation among friends. So we ended up going to a dentist that has been practicing for decades. Her educational credentials were on the wall and so she had the appearances of legitimacy. She was also very nice and eager to answer questions and offer explanations.
The intent of the visit was our 6-month cleaning, but I also wanted a second opinion regarding the prior ‘dentist’s’ assessment. The cleaning process here is pretty different. I much prefer the method in the US where a lot more is done, to include testing for early onset periodontal diseases. The dentist we went to yesterday charged over four times what the prior dentist charged. My hope was that more expensive might mean more competent.
The cleaning wasn’t too bad and not too painful. Her equipment reminded me of something I probably experienced in the US maybe 20 years ago. She certainly wasn’t the most technologically advanced. She wasn’t inclined to do xrays because she didn’t think they were necessary, but I insisted. So she did them. I do not have four cavities and her best guess is that the prior dentist was claiming that I did to make additional money. Apparently that’s not an uncommon practice here. Fun.
Overall I think I would return. She was nice. Seems to have integrity. And at least has the competence to clean teeth. I don’t think I’d go to her for anything more involved though.
