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A
Real Adventure, Third World Dental Care |
May
15, 2003 - Santa Cruz, Bolivia |
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| I fit in better now.
A lot of folks around
here are missing a few front teeth. I will probably start
making more friends! |
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| I broke
my tooth chewing on a hard roll at breakfast. Actually,
it was not my tooth but a porcelain crown or Ocapš.
I had the first crown done when I was in high school
because the tooth I was born with was a spiky little
peg lateral. |
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| In case you didnšt know, I
was a dentist in my previous life. More... |
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Very early
in my dental career a buddy of mine did some cosmetic
dentistry on me. I had gaps between all of my front
teeth. He bonded my teeth to close the spaces. (Thanks
again, Dr. Joe!) It changed my smile and my career. |
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| It made me feel better about
my smile. I started doing the procedure on my own patients.
I discovered I had a natural talent for the esthetics of
dentistry. I never looked back. It became the focus of my
career for the next 17 years |
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| But I digress.
Here in Santa Cruz, I shopped around for dentist to
see if I would be comfortable getting my tooth fixed
here. I was pleasantly surprised with Dr. Inez. It
can be a nightmare doing treatment on another dentist.
But she was flexible and open minded enough to listen
to my input. |
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| Her one-chair office was outfitted
with Brazilian equipment. It was modern and comfortably
clean. There were even NiteWhite brochures there to make
me feel at home! NiteWhite is an American product from a
Southern California company owned by acquaintances of mine.
Their flair for marketing seems to have conquered the entire
dental world! Congratulations Bill and Robert. |
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| I wanted to have another crown
made AND do a cosmetic procedure on the gums above the tooth.
When the crown was re-done last time, about 20 years ago,
I was not familiar with cosmetic contouring of the gum tissue.
You can change the appearance of a tooth, that is, make
it appear taller by raising the gumline. Late in my career
I was very proficient with this procedure. I even taught
the technique to other dentists. But could I do it on myself??
I wanted to try. |
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| I explained my desires to
Dr. Inez and she was willing to go for it! So the adventure
began. We hopped in her car and drove to the dental supply
store across town. I was able to find and purchase the specific
blades that I was familiar with. Back at the dental office
I spent the entire afternoon in the treatment chair. |
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| To some this will sound a
little twisted, but it was really fun! I told her about
selling my practice and hitting the road. She said, "I hate
my job! I wanna quit and travel too!" That made me wonder
if I had chosen the right dentist. But I think it is universal.
All dentists harbor secret dreams of hanging up the drill
for the last time and getting the heck out. Even if you
love it, there are aspects that are just hard to cope with
full-time. |
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| I ended up not being able
to do the gum procedure on myself. Picture me trying to
do precise incisions on myself, looking in the mirror, trying
to peer around my own fingers and lips! It was ridiculous
to even try. I ended up coaching her through the procedure.
She did a great job! I also had fun teaching her some tricks
for making temporary crowns. She was very appreciative. |
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| All in all, the dental adventure
turned out very nicely. The lab-processed acrylic crown
was ready the next morning. A day or two later my gums were
good as new and my smile looked better than it did before
the crown broke! Can't ask for much more than that. |
