Wednesday, April 01, 2009
16.44 On Time
It seems that dentists, generally, are not very highly regarded.
My experience of them hasn't been all bad. I've had a couple whose opinion I valued and whose verdicts I trusted. Not for some considerable time though.
Yesterday's appointment was at 16.45. I arrived at the surgery just before twenty to and, after a couple of minutes wait, was called in. By 16.45 I found myself standing at the reception hatch forking out £16.20 and wondering what just happened???
What had happened was that I'd had a 'gum check up'. This consisted of the TwelveYearOldAllegedDentist sticking a sharp object into my gums, in a couple of places, and then announcing that I needed to come back next week "for a full examination".
I did remonstrate, believe me.
Questions such as "Why can't you do it now?" were met by a perplexed stare. The hygienist spoke for him "It can take up to half an hour". Fair enough, but by my reckoning I've still got fifteen minutes left on this appointment, so why don't we make a start now and see how far we get?
But no, for reasons I still don't fully understand, it doesn't work like that. I'm supposed to go back next week.
Because I haven't changed dentists since moving house it's all a bit of a trek.
What with the trains and everything the trip from work, to dentist, then home took four and a half hours.
I'm not going back next week. What's the worst that can happen?
Crooked Teeth - Death Cab For Cutie
Teeth In the Grass - Iron & Wine
Skin And Teeth - Joe Henry
Sea Of Teeth - Sparklehorse
It seems that dentists, generally, are not very highly regarded.
My experience of them hasn't been all bad. I've had a couple whose opinion I valued and whose verdicts I trusted. Not for some considerable time though.
Yesterday's appointment was at 16.45. I arrived at the surgery just before twenty to and, after a couple of minutes wait, was called in. By 16.45 I found myself standing at the reception hatch forking out £16.20 and wondering what just happened???
What had happened was that I'd had a 'gum check up'. This consisted of the TwelveYearOldAllegedDentist sticking a sharp object into my gums, in a couple of places, and then announcing that I needed to come back next week "for a full examination".
I did remonstrate, believe me.
Questions such as "Why can't you do it now?" were met by a perplexed stare. The hygienist spoke for him "It can take up to half an hour". Fair enough, but by my reckoning I've still got fifteen minutes left on this appointment, so why don't we make a start now and see how far we get?
But no, for reasons I still don't fully understand, it doesn't work like that. I'm supposed to go back next week.
Because I haven't changed dentists since moving house it's all a bit of a trek.
What with the trains and everything the trip from work, to dentist, then home took four and a half hours.
I'm not going back next week. What's the worst that can happen?
Crooked Teeth - Death Cab For Cutie
Teeth In the Grass - Iron & Wine
Skin And Teeth - Joe Henry
Sea Of Teeth - Sparklehorse
Labels: real life
