If you hate going to the dentist...

My friend Meesha did this entry a couple of years ago about what dentistry was like when he was growing up in Russia.  I guarantee you that if you read this little piece, you will start thanking your lucky stars for whatever dentist you patronize.  You will also be glad you live in the good old U.S.A. 
Click HERE.

What happened to autumn?

This has been the strangest year, weatherwise: Spring lasted into July, then we had about two weeks of summer, then autumn took over. But before the leaves could finish turning, it seems winter arrived!

Perhaps I wouldn't have thought about the weather so much if it weren't for our motorcycle. Rains seemed to come on the weekends for much of the year; and while we got in lots of one-day trips, we've not been able to take advantage of many of Cliff's three-day weekends. The last time we did, we ended up riding in rain for a short stretch. In fact, I believe we got rained on during every weekend-long trip.

This is Missouri, so I'm still holding onto the hope that we'll get just one three-day weekend with an all-clear for riding to Arkansas. There can be drastic changes in weather here in just a twenty-four hour period. It doesn't look promising for the upcoming weekend, though.

Evidently there will be no flu shots for us, unless Cliff can get one at work. Our doctor is out of the vaccine. I called to make Cliff's quarterly appointment (blood work, mainly, to make sure his liver isn't being damaged by the Lipitor). Since we're going anyhow, I'll see if they want to try giving me a different blood pressure prescription. I'm probably in for a lecture, since I stopped taking the one they gave me last time; it had me coughing and gagging all the time.

At Cliff's last dental appointment, the dental hygienist wanted him to come back in a month because there were some spots on the roof of his mouth, in a place where cancer sometimes starts. As a typical wife, I wanted to see this myself, so when we got home I shoved a flashlight in Cliff's face and told him to say "ah". Sure enough, there was a rash, almost like a measles rash. I didn't worry too much about it; after all, Cliff hasn't indulged in cigarettes or snuff for years.

He still had the rash after a month; the lady told him to come back in two weeks, and to stop using mouthwash... perhaps that was an irritant.

Cliff is very thorough when it comes to brushing his teeth; he loves his electric toothbrush, and he takes care to brush his tongue and the roof of his mouth while he's in there; he decided, on his own, to leave the roof of his mouth alone, just in case.

The rash is gone. He'll go to the dentist's office and let them have a look, but I have pronounced him just fine, thank you very much.

Finally, a dentist I can trust

I decided last fall that I was going to do something about my teeth; actually, I don't have that many, and some of the few I have are crowns. I was going to get really brave and get dentures, but the last time I went to an oral surgeon to get a tooth pulled, he said that my teeth are hanging in so tight, I'd be wise (and happier) to go with a partial.

Back to my regular dentist, who actually got angry when I suggested a partial. He wanted to do bridgework and have a failing root canal redone (at extreme expense, and then it still might fail). Oh, and for the spot where there's a missing tooth that shows when I smile broadly, he wanted to do an implant. And he really talked to me in a high-and-mighty tone, insinuating that I was stupid not to want to spend so much money.

January 1, our insurance changed, and that dentist was no longer a preferred provider anyhow. So I needed to start all over.

I looked online for a nearby dentist who was on the new insurance's "approved" list and saw one, a lady dentist, in the next town over. I set up an appointment.

What I did not know was that the Rodgers/Lafayette clinic is sort of a charity place: they keep prices low, or set up payments for those who can't pay all at once. It's a wonderful work they're doing, but as in the case of any facility like this, the waiting time is long. By long, I mean two hours or more. And once you're in the office, things don't move any faster. The lady dentist seemed OK; her assistant left much to be desired. After cleaning and x-rays and two appointments, I decided to switch to Cliff's dentist, who is in the same town. The only reason I didn't choose him to start with was that it often takes weeks, even months, to get in to see him.

Let me just insert this: Do NOT pick your dentist from a list, knowing nothing about him or her. My mistake.

I called Rodgers/Lafayette and signed for my x-rays to be sent to Cliff's dentist. I called for an appointment yesterday, and they made the appointment for..... today! Unfortunately, the x-rays that were supposed to be sent had not arrived, so after my consultation, I went over there to see what the problem was, and found out the left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing. I think I got them moving; they said they'd have the x-rays sent by this afternoon. If I hadn't stopped by, they would never have been sent.

My new dentist had sensible, affordable solutions to all my problems. He didn't make me feel like an idiot for not wanting to spend thousands of dollars on teeth that have always been far from perfect, teeth that I'm sure have a very limited life span at this point.

Third time is charm, they say.

I planted twenty-five strawberry plants today. Because my knees won't let me bend, I sit on a bucket and stoop over to do work on the ground such as planting or weeding. After running the tiller (I can do that, even with bad knees), it was a matter of setting out a plant, getting up and moving my bucket and the container with the plants and the container of water, sitting on the bucket again.... well, let's just say it's tedious work. But it's done now. The bad part is there won't be strawberries until next year.

My plants all survived the freeze last night. I guess I'd consider this a good day.

A stable! I found a stable. And other random thoughts.

My desktop is with the computer doctor. While I'm thankful for this laptop as a spare, I find I'm not as verbose when using it, so I seem not to blog as much. You can consider that a blessing or a curse.

My life isn't quite an open book, believe it or not. I'm struggling with some dental issues lately, trying to make the right decision within the limits of our budget and our dental insurance... which changes the first of the year, by the way. Why do dentists seem to think everyone ought to be able to spend thousands of dollars on their teeth? Enough said about that.


I've blogged about my nativity figures before, more than once. I mentioned to Cliff this Christmas season that Baby Jesus really needs a stable for his manger. I had thoughts of my dear husband perhaps nailing a few boards together to serve that purpose, but yesterday I found a ready-made stable at Walmart. Overpriced it was, and it sheds. But I'm happy. And so is Cliff, who doesn't care much for carpentry, no matter how small the project.

It's snowing, and ten degrees outside. If it's going to be so cold, it may as well be pretty. Let it snow.

So, are we getting THAT old?

Cliff and I have noticed we're going to doctors of one sort or another quite regularly these days.

I visited my dentist last month, followed by an appointment with an oral surgeon. Then there was a visit with my orthopedist to figure out what to do with my knee. I have more appointments scheduled with my dentist next Friday, and the next.

Yesterday I had knee surgery, so of course there's a follow-up visit with the orthopedist in two weeks.

Cliff sees his heart specialist (routine yearly visit) December 27.

Good grief, Gertie.

Thank God for health insurance.