Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Dentist's Offices
I'm going to jump on Kate's bandwagon today and steal her blog topic. :-) (Sorry, Kate!) And, I have to contradict her on the whole dentist thing. I have never really DIS-liked going to the dentist. It's not like I look forward to dental visits like I do to a good vacation ... it's just that I haven't ever really had a problem with my teeth (I'm very blessed in that regard ... never even a cavity!!), so I don't mind going. Since I've moved from the Buffalo area to the Northern Virginia area, I've started going to Dr. Grieco in Fairfax. One of my closest friends and my mentor, Nancy, works in his office. I always arrange my dental appointment so that she and I can either have lunch before the appointment or dinner afterward.
One of the things that "gets" me, though is the whole concept of going every 6 months. I mean, come on. My health insurance doesn't cover dental. So I pay for the whole visit (cleaning, fluoride treatment, x-rays, etc.) out of my pocket (and then use my FLEX funds to reimburse). Why would I put myself through paying for that twice a year when there's NEVER anything wrong. So, all my life, they've recommended that I come in every six months, and I always smile and politely make my next appointment for 12 months later. Well, they hired a new hygenist last summer, and in August she told me all this stuff about the "pits" in my teeth being at risk for becoming cavities later. She strongly recommended that I come back in 6 months. So, I listened this time. I had another appointment a couple of weeks ago. Since my appointments have usually been during the summer, I haven't had to deal with trying to get from school (Arlington) to the dentist (Fairfax) in time for a 3:00 (their latest time) appointment. It was quite difficult because I have to arrange for coverage for my last class and get permission to leave, etc., etc. So, when she told me again that she wanted me back in 6 months, she gave me a reason other than the pits in my teeth as her concern. I made another appointment for August, but informed her that I will only be coming in every 12 months again. It is just not worth it. Her last-ditch effort to get me in more frequently went like this: "well, maybe you could do this: whenever there's a snow day, we have LOTS of cancellations. So, the next time school is cancelled for a snow day next winter, just call us in the morning and you can have one of the slots that opens up. I know you know how to drive in the winter weather." Yeah, that's it. I'll take my next snow day off and go in for a dental appointment. Sorry, NanKay ... not even probably to have lunch with you. Snow days are for staying in pajamas all day and drinking hot chocolate in front of the DVD's that I've rented and haven't had time to watch. :-)
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