Superfresh.
With few exceptions, I don’t know very many people who love going to the dentist. I think we probably all love that super-clean, super-fresh feeling after, but the combination of worry about possible cavities and the sound of the tools up against the enamel is enough to cause a little anxiety even for those of us who are cucumbers normally.
Throw in a little extra dose of anxiety for navigating healthcare in a foreign country and I’m basically a bundle of nerves. And, I’m pretty good at procrastinating “doing the needful” (as they might say here).
I know, I know…
I’m embarrassed to admit that the thing that finally got me over the hump was Nicolas’s 3-year-old well-child exam last week. I knew that the embassy’s doctor would again ask if we had found a dentist here and I didn’t want to have to sheepishly reply “not yet.” I also knew that I couldn’t continue to call myself a good mom if I didn’t make it happen.
So last week, a few days before visiting the G.P., we took a tuk-tuk to a highly-recommended clinic not too far from our house. The makes and models of the chauffeured cars outside told me that this was probably a pretty ritzy clinic but I was mostly concerned with keeping my nervous kiddo calm and collected. He had already gotten quiet on the ride over and started gently rubbing his hands together as he sometimes does when he’s nervous.
As we sat in the waiting room, Nicolas snuggled up against me and I watched mothers in perfectly-draped saris gliding from the exam rooms to the desk where they paid and made follow-up appointments. The receptionist apologized for our wait and explained that the doctor had gotten caught up in Delhi’s traffic. Nicolas and I played a game of “I spy” and talked about how Blippi has a dentist too.
Still, nerves. Nicolas’s for a new situation and my own for the unknown quantity of a 3-year-old facing a new situation.
I shouldn’t have been surprised to find out that my kid is an absolute rockstar. It helped that the dentist (who practiced in Boston for about 10 years) has amazing chair-side manner. He suggested that I hold Nicolas in my lap for the exam and patiently explained everything in terms understandable to his preschool patient. He also helped me understand the differences in Indian and U.S. standards of care for fluoride supplementation since our U.V.-filtered water only gives about half of what’s recommended. Teeth declared “great” and two stickers later, we were on our way to pay our bill and head home.
The surprise came when the receptionist told me that the princely sum of a pediatric dental exam in a ritzy clinic in a posh neighborhood was 2,500rs (about $30 USD). It’s India, so I was expecting it to be low but wasn’t expecting less than half the price of a similar exam (in an equally ritzy clinic in a similarly posh neighborhood) back home. More than six months here and I’m still sometimes shocked by the cost differential for services. And, of course, I’m mindful that what feels affordable to me is extremely out of reach for many.
Before we left, I knew I had to put my money were my mouth was and make my own appointment for a check-up and cleaning. This is probably the point where I should confess that, at least until this morning, I hadn’t been to the dentist since fall of 2019.
I’m proud to say that I now have that minty fresh feeling and even got a “good oral hygiene” note in my chart. And I even have my next exam scheduled for October.
Five years in to this Foreign Service/expat adventure, I’ve learned that it’s not just getting through the big things. It’s navigating everyday life that sometimes take a big lift. I’ve also learned (but still sometimes forget) that I always feel better when I just knock things out.
So here’s to clean and healthy teeth. And to crossing something off the list.
