“When it hurts, you scream”
January 3, 2019
James Wilson and I had our first dental appointments today. Overall I’d say things went pretty well, although just before the hygienist started to clean my teeth, she casually said “When it hurts, you scream.” Believe it or not, that seemed cause for alarm and set me a bit on edge.
It was in fact a rather painful cleaning that involved a great deal more stabbing and scraping with sharp metal objects of various sizes and an overall lack of rinsing or suctioning.
The dentist also seemed to espouse some questionable, and, at times, conflicting advice such as:
• American flossing is silly and a toothpick is much preferred.
• Wearing a night guard is the old way of thinking, we prefer to build up the canines with filling instead so there’s more to grind off.
• The American custom of extracting wisdom teeth is viewed with disdain
• X-rays aren’t necessary (followed quickly by the assertion) “Prevention is the key to long term dental health.”
I have my appointment to build up my canines in a few weeks. I can’t wait.
Oh, and as a side note, I’ll also need to tell you about a letter I received in the mail informing me that I’m encouraged to have an HPV screening to detect signs of cancer, but if it’s “too annoying” to schedule an appointment, instructions for PERFORMING MY OWN PAP SMEAR can be arranged.
In other news, I went to Hanos, which is the Dutch equivalent of Costco with my friend Meredith yesterday. It’s a tad fancier than what we have in America, especially the area where they serve lunch. Also, the meat department displays taxidermy versions of what they sell, which is…. helpful?
I didn’t buy too much stuff because I had to be able to get it home sans car and our fridge is small (although not so small by Dutch standards). I bought some lovely fresh herbs for James Wilson and some potato chips with caviar (because, why not) and some gorgeous produce. Just before we went into the fruit section, Meredith, who had been to Hanos once before, turned to me and said, very seriously, “Okay, we’re not going to take any shit from the fruit man today,” and it confirmed what I suspected the first time we met — that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Did you try the pheasant or did the display of the actual bird keep you moving? Sounds like an interesting day.
Didn’t try any this time. Perhaps on the next visit. 😉
Did it feel like toilet paper? In Madrid it felt like crepe paper, in your hands and on your parts. Also remember it was a very bright lime green. Must say your blogs are great. You make everything come to life. So happy you’re enjoying the experience. Love you