A Fresh Start

Today started with another visit to Kiki and another ticking off for me, this time for not having had any breakfast before turning up. Angry Assistant lectured me on why it’s important to eat a bit extra before a dental appointment so that the anaesthetic doesn’t make you giddy.

While Angry Assistant was off establishing Boss Lady’s whereabouts (so that BL could talk to me about implants), Kiki numbed me up, patting my leg to reassure me (at least, I think it was to reassure me …). Very tactile, your eastern european dentists in my experience.

“You’re much calmer today,” Kiki said. “You were very stressed the last time.”

“Well yes. I’d just been severly told off for the state of my teeth and a figure of two thousand pounds had featured largely in the conversation. Today’s ticking off was mild by comparison.”

They were running late by the time I went in but when I explained I simply had to be out by 10 o’clock they reassured me that - as it was just the one filling (replacement) - there was plenty of time. It was a quarter past by the time I got out of the chair, of course. I’ll have to ensure that future appointments with these two are after work.

In to work, then, for another ticking off. This one was from Tall Andy and Flash, not happy with my doing 5 days’ work in under three and a half days. I can’t say I was particularly pleased with it myself as I mentioned earlier. We agreed that next week I’d stick to more reasonable hours (8:30 to 6 for four days).

I returned to the dentist at 1 o’clock for my chat with Boss Lady and her assistant, Tizzy (where do they get these names?!). As I was led in by said Tizzy, Boss Lady was examining an x-ray.

“Beautiful”, she said.

“Really?“, I asked, rather surprised.

“Oh, I thought she meant me.” smiled Tizzy.

“That’d certainly be more likely.”

One brownie point to me, I think - keeping the assistant sweet has to help, doesn’t it?

Small talk ensued about my relocation to Norfolk from Scotland.

“I’ve never been to Scotland.”, Tizzy said.

“Well, it’s almost as nice as Wales.”

“I’ve never been there either?”

I laughed and jokingly asked “Suffolk?”

“No.”

“No?!”

Boss Lady whipped out her samples so I could see exactly what the procedure involves. Some professor chap comes over from Brussels to do the work (which partly explains the high cost) and she explained how while this is the most expensive implant method, it has a much higher than average success rate. I hadn’t even considered the success rate or, more pertinently, the failure rate. Boss Lady started showing me her (x-ray) photo album but I found there are only so many jaws you can look at and remain suitably impressed so I made polite noises and she took the hint and put the album down.

I’d mentioned to Kiki that I could feel the infection returning in the broken tooth and she’d said that Boss Lady’d have a look at this, so I raised the subject again.

“Ah yes. There’s very little tooth there.”

“Yes, I had noticed that.”

“It really should be taken out and replaced.”

“You mean another implant, don’t you? That would make it an awfully expensive course of treatment.”

“Yes, but there’s a discount if you have more than one, though.” Quite a sizeable discount it is too but it’s still a heck of a lot of money. At least it’s paid in the three bite-sized chunks (if you’ll pardon the pun).

I said I’d think carefully about both implants and would let them know early next week.

Three hours later and I was back at reception.

“Can I see Boss Lady for a minute, please? The infection I mentioned at lunchtime has come back with a vengeance.”

BL was happy to write me a prescription for penicillin as long as I come back within a week to have the tooth removed. I wonder if there’s a season ticket deal available …

I must say that the medicine worked wonderfully and the throbbing’s calmed down very quickly. Ahhhhhhh.

…

Enough of these tales of dental (and financial) woe, though. You’ll not be interested in this in the slightest.

…

My working week done, I’ve said my farewells to the Space Cadet and (once I’ve checked what I’ve written about him) will pass on the blog’s URL to him after he finishes work tomorrow - there’s no way I want him reading it in the orifice in case others learn of the site! He’s off to the south coast to continue his Space Cadet studies.

“Don’t blow anything up.” I told him.

“Well, I’ll try …”

“I know Werner von Braun moved from military applications to peaceful uses. I don’t want you to go the other way.”

He assured me he’d try not to. I do find the idea of his being involved in rocketry rather unsettling