Dentist Update

Well, I survived it.

Dr Rivera doesn't speak a lot of English and neighbour D is fluent in Spanish so we arranged to have our appointments together. She went first and I took my relaxant then, since her appointment would be an hour long and he had recommended taking it an hour prior to my appointment. Oh my. It affected me much more this time. I could feel a bit of a buzz happening and when I stood up for my turn, my knees were pretty wobbly. Good grief. I was stoned!

I had asked D to tell him not to diddle around with just one freezing, hoping it would be enough, and to please just give me 3 right off the bat. So he did. But it still wasn't enough and he had to give me one more. The pain of the drilling had totally cut through my buzz and now I was "sober". So as I'm lying in the chair, waiting for the 4th freezing to settle in, I'm giving myself a pep talk.

"Ok, Barb. Relax. He said freezing takes better if the patient is relaxed. And you know that once the freezing takes hold, you won't feel anything. Relax. Turn your head the other way to unkink the muscle on that side so it doesn't block the freezing. Relax. Do some deep breathing. Relax."

The 4th freezing did the trick but that didn't stop me from holding my hands on my tummy, fingers entwined in a white knuckle death squeeze. Finally I was done. And when I went to stand up off the chair, my legs were wobbly again. From the relaxant? From the relief of being done? I have no idea. But it made me and Dr Rivera chuckle.

A small piece of my tooth had broken off and caused a cavity beneath an old filling. Dr Rivera drilled out the cavity and replaced the old metal filling with a white one. My cost was 1700 pesos, or $140 CDN. I don't know what the cost would be back home but just a cleaning costs more than that.

D had the secretary write me out a receipt to submit to our insurance company but I didn't realize, until we got home, that it doesn't specify exactly what he did. It just says "Dental Treatment" and the amount paid. I have my doubts that that'll be good enough so I'll have to get another one. I'll also have to get a translation. Sr B doesn't think the insurance company is going to accept it, even with the procedure and translation. Even if they don't, what I paid is probably in the neighbourhood of our co-pay, anyways. All we can do is submit it and hope for the best. And I was in pain. It wasn't like I could wait until we got back to Canada. Even if we don't get reimbursed anything, it was still money well spent.

Dr Rivera is a very nice gentleman. Soft spoken and with very gentle hands. I would have no reservations about seeing him again.

This n That

We leave in a week's time so we did our last grocery store run yesterday at Bodega and noticed how much fresher the produce was from usual. Did the produce truck just come in or is the new Soriana's, with their very nice produce, giving them a run for their money? Whatever the reason, we're happy for it. And Sr B found spinach there. He was a happy man!

Neighbours Liz and Marty go away for 3 or 4 months during the winter. They returned late Sunday night so, last night we spent the evening together, enjoying their photos while they regaled us with tales of their stay in Puerto Escondido.

Today, the handyman that most of us use came and took our hot water heater to service it. We haven't had any problems with it but we felt it was time to have that done. An ounce of  prevention kind of deal. He took it this morning, saying he would bring it back either this afternoon or tonight, depending on how much build up he had to clean out. It's still not back. So no hot water until then.

Sochi, our fabulous massage gal, came this morning. Her routine includes telling us to relax when we get on the table.  Well, Sr B took her at her word and fell asleep. Sochi and I shared a couple of giggles at his expense when his snoring got particularly loud.

Today was another hot one, 38C in the shade according to our thermometer, so Sr B and I went down to the pool in the afternoon and visited with all who were there. Many of the residents and renters have already gone home so it's a lot quieter down there now.

The body of the young man who fell off the pier the other day was found. So, so sad but at least his family can have closure.

I have my next dentist appointment tomorrow. I have a kink in my neck which might affect the freezing.  According to my dentist at home, I'm part of a small group of people who have an extra nerve for the lower jaw. Everyone has one that runs along the temple but a few of us also have one that runs from the neck. It's a major reason why I need extra freezing. In the past, a kink in my neck has completely blocked the freezing, so I'm a little concerned about tomorrow. I guess I'll just have to see what happens.

A Painful Day

I sunburned a bit more than I had realized, the other day, so I've stayed out of the sun as much as possible since then.

My mouth has been in excruciating pain today. It comes and goes but when it's here, I just want to rip my jaw off. Sometimes the pain is so sharp that it causes my upper body to have something similar to a mini convulsion. I figured it was just an after effect from yesterday's drilling so I toughed it out.

Tonight, I couldn't take it anymore so I went upstairs to see neighbour D. She tried to call the dentist but there was no answer. She's going to try again in the morning and ask if he can see me in a day or two. She thought I might need a root canal. omg. I hope not.

Between the mild pain on my shoulders from the sunburn and the horrendous pain in my mouth that just sucked the life out of me, I didn't do too much today.

Dental Visit

Here's the promised update on my dental experience.

I took my relaxant about an hour before my appointment. It got rid of the massive tummy butterflies but I still had to do some deep breathing before the dentist started. I was expecting to be stoned and out of things, but I wasn't. A crazy buzz might have been fun but I'm actually glad I was still cognizant.

Neighbour D came with me to translate and told him that I always need at least 2 doses of freezing. I don't think he believed her/me because he only gave me one and then checked on me, asking if my lip was frozen. Things felt a bit prickly, but frozen? No. I still had about 80% sensation.

This is my biggest complaint with new dentists. They never seem to believe me. My dentist at home has it figured out and automatically gives me 2 doses right off the bat. He also understands that I may need one or two more.

So he gives me another shot and we wait. I'm more frozen but I'm not feeling confident that it's enough. He starts poking around and my feelings were confirmed. I gasp and he stops. In goes the third dose.

Finally I'm frozen enough for him to start drilling. A couple of times he hit a nerve that still had some feeling but the pain wasn't enough to warrant yet another shot.

Apparently the cavity is quite deep and requires more work. He put in a temporary filling and covered the top of my tooth with what looks like white tape. I don't think it's going to be possible to floss between that tooth and its neighbour at this point. And I can only eat soft food, though that didn't stop me from very carefully eating a couple of tortilla chips.

I have to go back for the permanent filling which will be ceramic. I'm not so sure of this. Google tells me this isn't always a good choice for a molar. We shall see.

I'm past due for a cleaning and he wants to do this at my next visit, as well. My total cost for all of this will be 2000 pesos. We have dental coverage through Sr B's work but it's not full coverage. I'm guessing two thousand pesos will be quite a bit less than the portion I would have to pay back home.

Next update in two weeks.

Dental Woes

I've been having some on again, off again pain in a lower molar. It got really bad just as we left to come here and I've been living on Advil the past week. Neighbour D invited me to go along with her to her dentist appointment this morning and see if they might have time to take a look. They did.

There is a young man and gal who both work at this office and I believe D said they're brother and sister. She sees the brother and loves him. The sister took a look at my teeth and I'm a bit skeptical. She said I had 7 cavities. Is it possible to know this without doing an xray? And why wouldn't my dentist back home say anything?

Neither of the dentists speak much English so D had to translate. What I was told is that the fillings I have are very old (true) and that there are cavities beneath them. I still don't know how they can determine this without any xrays. What they want to do is remove all the fillings, deal with the cavities and refill. Umm...no thanks.

According to my dentist at home, I'm a dental anomaly. Because of this, I ALWAYS require 2 freezings when I have work done on my lower jaw and, even then, I may not completely freeze. Sometimes I need 3 or 4 doses. I never know how many I'll need so it's always a guessing game. A trip to the dentist often involves pain due to insufficient freezing. Needless to say, I have an almost phobic fear of dental visits, even for something as simple as the nothing-more-than-a-look-see that I got today. So when they said I needed all my fillings re-done? Yeaaahhhh...not gonna happen.

So D and I have appointments for next week. D will be my translator and explain my freezing issues. The dentist gave me a prescription for a relaxant to take one hour before hand. Excellent! I've never had this before but I had planned on asking for something. Honestly, the older I get, the more worked up I get. It's embarrassing to be so high maintenance.

After leaving their office, the hunt was on for the relaxant. The first pharmacy I went to didn't have the 1mg that had been ordered. The gal told me that they had .25mg and .50mg. I asked if I could use 2 of the .50mgs. She said she couldn't give that to me because that wasn't what was on the prescription. Umm...ok. (All this done in Spanish. Yay me!)

So off to another pharmacy. They also didn't have the 1mgs but they did have the .50s. and they could sell that to me. The catch? I had to purchase an entire box of 30 tablets. I only need 2. When I inquired if I could only purchase 2, I was told that it was impossible. Really? In the land of being able to buy only one egg or one cigarette, I have to buy a whole box of pills? Still, they were probably cheaper than one pill would be back home, and I'm not prepared to see the dentist without them, so I paid.

Review of my torture session dental visit to follow.

Mish Mash of Stuff

This morning Senor B and I went uptown to run a few errands. First, we went to a store called Bolom Balam. It's on Calle 80 and just off the malecon. Two gentlemen, Richard and David, operate it. They also collect school supplies and Christmas toys to distribute to those who are in need. We've brought school stuff down on previous trips and did the same this trip. Unfortunately, the store was closed so we had to bring the supplies back here. Friend S knows a lady who collects school supplies so we're going to give our stash to S to give to her friend.

Then I wanted to stop at a little store that Liz and I went to the other day. I had seen a wooden wall ornament I liked but didn't purchase at the time. Sadly, they were also closed.

Then to the bank to cash in some American money that we had left over from Cancun. That's an experience! First of all, you have to take a number. There's a machine at the door with several options to choose from. I chose the "Caja", or "cashier", button. The machine dispenses a small piece of paper with a number. Instead of waiting in line, there are padded chairs to sit on. A digital display tells you which number is being served and at which counter. I knew, from reading somewhere, that I would need my passport, so I brought that with me. It took quite a while for the transaction. The teller was deep in concentration while he was typing away on something. He typed, then wrote, then typed some more. I had to sign my name to a piece of paper as well as writing my Progreso address and my home phone number on this paper. He handed my passport to someone who scanned it. At least that's what it looked like he did with it. They're all behind glass and there are cameras all over the place. I didn't want to look too nosey and make it look like I was up to no good. More typing and writing and, finally, the question. "Would you like that in large or small bills?" Small, please. One can never have enough small money in Mexico.

Then we walked to the small mall where the ADO ticket office is to buy our bus tickets to Cancun for Thursday.

A quick stop at a liquor store to buy a liquer that we had been served at Casa on the Malecon the other night and then onto the combi to bring us back to the condo.

I decided to keep my dentist appointment for this afternoon. S&D were going into Merida and had planned on shopping at the Altabrisa mall which is right across the street from the dentist, so I caught a ride with them. I ended up getting a new guard made. I guess my gag reflex made it difficult to get a good mold impression. The new impression went much more smoothly and now I have a guard that fits well. After the impression, they told me that the guard would be ready in 45 minutes. They knew that we're leaving in 2 days and they wanted to save me having to make another trip into the city. Is that service, or what?!

I came home to discover that Liz and Marty had made chili and sent some to our house for supper. I didn't get home until 7:30 so it was nice to have supper already made. All I had to do was heat it up.

Called my favourite granddaughter tonight. That she's my only granddaughter is irrelevant...lol. We had us a good chin wag. My goodness, that girl can talk. *grin*

It's still breezy and it's chilly. We had to close the windows. I know, I know. Wah, wah, wah. How cold can it be if I can still wear shorts. Actually, I had to put a sweater on and, if we'd kept the windows open, I'd be wearing my jeans. It really is cool, even by northern standards.

Did Some Decorating

Today we got the rug hung on the wall. We have a very long wall that has nothing to break up the expanse. No light switches, no corners. Nothing. And with the walls being 9 feet high, we have a huge area to try to cover. The rug hangs longer than it does wide so it fills up a good deal of vertical space. It looks good. I still have a lot of space to fill in the kitchen area of that wall, but that'll come.

We also hung the picture that Theresa gave me. I put it on the short wall between the washroom and our bedroom. You can see it almost as soon as you walk into the condo. That area needed a bold splash of colour and the painting is perfect there.

I might have to go back to see the dentist. My guard is really tight against my front teeth. When I took it off this morning, my teeth felt like they'd been hyper-extended all night. It wasn't until late this afternoon that they felt normal. I have an appointment Monday afternoon. If the guard softens up and stops hurting by then, I can cancel my appointment. I'm really hoping I don't have to go back. I'd rather be spending my last few days at the pool than in the city.

Tonight we went for supper with S&D who live upstairs. We went to Casa on the Malecon, the same place we went to with Marc. We had heard that they offered more than just fish, so we asked. They have chicken cordon bleu and something else that I missed the name of. They're not on the menu, though. You have to ask for them. I had the chicken and it was very good.

I would have liked to have gone down to the town square to check out the action. I've heard that there's almost always something going on there on Saturday nights. But everyone else was tired and, since I didn't want to go by myself, I came home.

Seeing the Dentist in Mexico

First, I forgot to mention that when Theresa came to visit yesterday, she brought me a birthday present...a lovely painting she had done and that I had admired on her blog. http://theresainmerida.blogspot.com/2011/02/margaritas.html Isn't it beautiful? The colours are perfect for the condo. Now I just have to figure out the perfect spot to showcase it. Check out her blog for other paintings she's done. She's quite talented.

Ok, on to my experience with seeing a dentist here. Here's the website. http://dentistayucatan.com/

I got the dentist's name and website from some folks, J&L, who are staying in the complex. I needed a  nightguard because I grind my teeth at night. I sent the dentist an email and set up my appointment that way. I emailed Sunday evening and was able to see him today. Wow!! Back home, I'd be waiting *at least* a month.

Since we don't have a car rental, I had to take the Autoprogreso bus in. I needed to get off at Chedraui, a box store here, but wasn't sure where to get off the bus. In my very poor Spanish, I asked the young lady sitting beside me if this was Chedraui and she said no and then started chattering away and gesticulating directions. I told her my Spanish wasn't very good so she said she would tell me when. I actually didn't understand her words but her tone and watchful eye told me what she had said.

J&L had said I would need to get a cab at Chedraui so I told the two customer service guys standing outside, that I needed one. I expected that they would call one for me but instead the young man pointed to the street and said, "yaddayaddayadda...senale...yaddayadda...avenida...yaddayadda." Two words I understood. Ok, gotcha. I need to go out to the avenue, stand near the big sign and flag a taxi down.

Got a cab and gave the driver the paper with the address. The drive took about 20 minutes and cost 56 pesos, just over $4. Four dollars!!! That would have been at least $30 at home. I'm constantly amazed at how inexpensive so many things are here.

I got to the dentist about 10. My appointment wasn't until 10:30 but he took me almost as soon as I got there. Javier, the dentist on the website, looked at my teeth and then Ricardo, another dentist, did the actual work. Both dentists introduced themselves by their first names. It felt odd addressing them that way instead of as Dr. So-and-so.

I'm a high maintenance patient. I don't want to be, but I am. My dentist at home says my nerves are wired differently and it makes freezing very difficult. I've had as many as 3 shots in one sitting and yet didn't freeze.
I also have a weak gag reflex. A trip to the dentist is always an ordeal. Today was no different.

Ricardo put too much mold product into the tray. It squished out and it went too far into the back of my mouth. Thankfully, I didn't do more than gag but the mold had to come out. The second attempt worked.

I was all finished with that part by 10:30, my original appointment time. Ricardo said the guard would be ready at noon and I could come back then. Seriously?! I was gobsmacked that it would be ready so soon.

J&L were also there so we went to the mall across the street and had some lunch, after they took care of some business they had. Then it was time to go back to get the guard.

Javier and Ricardo both speak great English, as do a couple of the girls who work there. The office is clean. His set up, at least the chair I sat in, isn't quite as modern as I'm used to. Remember those little bowls for spitting into, on the side of the chair? That's what my chair had. I haven't seen those in quite a while. But that doesn't matter. I was only concerned about getting a guard that fit and that's what I got.

The very best part? My dentist at home had quoted me about $525 for this. Our insurance company would have paid for half, making my cost about $250. My cost today was 850 pesos, about $63.