German Dentist Part II

I last left you with German Dentist Part I when Martin heading out the door for his dentist appointment as I contemplated the outcome mine. The fear of what two kaputt teeth could mean definitely swam through my mind. So I waited. I went on a walk around the neighborhood, and ventured back home to await Martin and the verdict.

Martin walked in the door. He couldn’t stop smiling as he took off his coat. “Could you believe how fast they were?” he asked. “Wow! When was the last time you got such fast service at any medical place? I love Germany! We didn’t even have to sit down in a waiting room.”

It was true: our appointments were half as long as they ever were in the US.

Oh but Martin couldn’t stop gushing. He was thrilled! “And my teeth? I don’t think my teeth have ever felt so clean. That’s the most amazing, efficient dentist’s office ever. Don’t your teeth feel clean, Katie?”

I ran my tongue over my teeth. That was true. My teeth had never felt so clean. When I had looked in the mirror earlier to make sure I’d gotten all the teeth cleaning goo off my face, I couldn’t believe the gaps between my teeth. All this gunk had been completely blasted out. Of course, German efficiency and the cleanliness of my teeth were not what I was thinking about at all…

“What’d they say about my teeth?” I begged. The words two teeth and kaputt ran through my head.

Martin shrugged. “The hygenisist says you have two small cavities.” He bent down to take off his shoes. “So I made appointments for us to see the dentist.”

(I am not sure how other dentists’ offices operate in Germany. At ours, you make seperate appointments to have your teeth cleaned and to see the dentist. The idea is that when you see the dentist, she can actually help you and correct any problems, take x-rays, and really evaluate your teeth. If you need the drill, boom! It’s there. Teeth cleaning takes place in the morning; dentist visits are in the afternoons.

At my dentist’s office in the US, we spend a lot of time in the waiting room. Then we get our teeth cleaned and have to wait for Dr. B. He barely has five minutes before he has to rush to the next waiting patient who just had her teeth cleaned. It’s a very interesting change, don’t you think?)

So I thought about what Martin said. He was so impressed with our dentist’s office, and we hadn’t even met the dentist yet. I guess my first cavities couldn’t be all that bad.

Is going under the drill as scary as they say?

If anything, the idea of cavities was a huge relief to hear. Add the word “cavity” to the list of German words to know. And just to be safe, throw in “root canal”. Oh – and “kaputt”!!

Martin went on to tell me the questions on the health form. “I see why you couldn’t do it, Katie. There were a lot of words. It was all yes or no, though.”

Then he started laughing and added, “Well almost all of the questions were yes and no. One wasn’t: Are you pregnant? Yes. No. I don’t know.”

The rest of the day, Martin and I couldn’t chew very well. Our gums were throbbing.

Three weeks later, we went to meet the dentist. Together. Everyone was so friendly… and yeah, yeah, yeah. They were incredibly kind the first time, too. I was just so unsure that I didn’t realize it.

I sat in the dentist’s chair. Martin sat in the corner to translate and wait his turn. The dentist poked around my mouth and chatted with us. It wasn’t the American chatter I am used to about pets and college plans. I have to remember that just because people aren’t friendly the way Americans are, it doesn’t mean they aren’t kind people. Poor Germans have an especially bad reputation, which is unfortunate because Germans are fabulous and loyal friends. They also make pretty good husbands, if you ask me!

So there I sat with my mouth wide open as the dentist poked and examined each of my teeth.

“Your teeth look beautiful,” she announced in German with a few other things I didn’t quite catch.

I grinned. I kept bracing for that drill.

Martin added, “Katie, she just said you don’t have any cavities…”

I gasped. I smiled. Yeah!

The dentist stood up and pushed her chair out of the way.  I leaped off my seat and went to take Martin’s chair in the corner.  Oh what a fabulous day!

Perhaps my teeth are shaped slightly different than what the hygenisists were familiar with. (Can American chompers be different? Who knows.) All I know is that I completely blew the whole thing out of proportion. The hygenisists were simply trying to help prevent something that could have been bigger.

And guess what – our appointment cost 1/3 of what we’ve ever paid in the US. Needless to say, we’ll be back in six months. The pain was real, but it was oh-so-worth the results.  Plus now I kind of like these ladies.

* * * * * * * *

I thought my experience was something important to share with all of you because the dentist’s office is the all-time feared place to go, and my experience really presents some interesting ideas for you to consider.

Yes – I should have researched the way they would clean my teeth so that I would understand what was going on. Maybe I just expected that I would know. After all, my experiences at the dentist’s office have always been exactly the same my entire life.

That’s the thing. The things that are the simplest and most obvious things for one person are not necessarily so easy for someone who doesn’t speak the same language or comes from the same place.

If you are the person coming from a confussing experience like I was, I think that laughing later is the best medicine.

And if you are interacting with someone or seeing someone who isn’t familiar with your ways, be patient. Not everyone understands how the local banks work or how the recycling system functions. Bridal showers, opening Christmas gifts on Christmas day… so many things that we do our entire lives are not what other people have ever done.

I think about all of the Spanish speaking immigrants in the US. Whether they are legal or illegal and should or should not be there is not something to argue here. What is worth noting – and I hope we can all do this – is to see that those people have a really tough situation. They probably don’t have a husband to come translate like I do. They aren’t held to equal standards to locals like I am as an American in Germany. Everything they know is different. Not wrong. Just different. Be tolerant.

Oh – and please don’t use the word “kaputt”.