Archive for the 'Kathleen' Category

This is pretty disgusting – just a warning.

I was biting into an apple at work yesterday when, all of a sudden, it felt as if a piece had become lodged between my bottom-front teeth. I look in the mirror in the men’s room and see something grey on one of them. Naturally, I pick at it with a fingernail, only to discover that something wasn’t on my tooth. Rather, something had come off my tooth.

Naturally, I was terrified; you only get one set of teeth! Initially, I thought that a piece of enamel had come off my tooth, having been weakened by years of binge soda drinking and numerous cups of coffee. While the real problem wasn’t that severe, it was still pretty disgusting.

Of course, the first thing one does in any situation like this is panic. I didn’t have my health insurance card yet! Procedures like this in the States normally cost hundreds of dollars for the uninsured. The next thing I did was inform my co-teacher that I needed to see a dentist. She called all three clinics in town. Luckily, one of them accepted walk-ins everyday. My appointment was at 5:30PM. I spent the rest of the day panicking, unable to get any lesson planning done.

Kathleen’s co-teacher, Mr. Choi (pronounced Che) met us as we were walking home and offered us a ride. He told me he would be back at 5:30. I showed Kat my tooth, and she immediately agreed that it looked disgusting and required immediate attention. I couldn’t even smile.

Finally, 5:30 rolled around. I met Mr. Choi downstairs, and we walked to the dentist’s office. In the waiting room, the minutes felt like hours. All the magazines were Korean (obviously!), so Mr. Choi and I made small talk until the dentist called me back. I sat down in the chair, worried that this procedure would cost an arm and a leg without insurance. After all, getting medical help in the States without insurance normally spells disaster for one’s checkbook. As it turns out, my worries would prove to be unfounded.

The dentist spoke pretty good English. His wife and kids are staying in North Carolina for the year – she’s a resident professor at UNC! He took one look at my teeth and looked horrified. I asked him if he could do a filling and he said, “No filling. Part that fell off not tooth. Plaque.” He proceeded to scrape the same section off the tooth next to it, making my smile even more hideous. All I needed to fix the problem was a normal cleaning.

Immediately, I told him that I was worried about the cost of the procedure because I didn’t have my insurance card. He started laughing hysterically. Without insurance, my cleaning would cost 16,000 won ($16US). Once I got my insurance card, the money would be refunded. Boss. He knew how expensive dentistry was in the States because his wife discovered this when she took her kids for a cleaning.

After 30 minutes of intensive cleaning, my teeth looked perfect again. I still don’t know how they got that bad. Yes, I hadn’t had a cleaning in two years, but it’s not like I don’t brush three times a day, floss, and use Listerine. Maybe it’s the soda, which I will no longer touch for the rest of eternity.

I suppose this is a cautionary tale. I hope it wasn’t too disgusting.