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Published: October 23rd 2013
This place is huge!
Not exactly a typical "dentist office" by any means!There are few things in life I enjoy less than a trip to the doctor or dentist. It's not that I ever have bad experiences when I go--quite the contrary--but I always get really stressed about the fact that I'm about to pay someone a large sum of money in order to be told there's something wrong with me. And I'm always secretly afraid they'll find some other ailment I didn't know about. I just never feel happy about the whole process.
In China, dentistry was seen more as a reactive form of medicine, rather than a preventative form of medicine. While there were certainly some good dentists... they didn't have quite the quality I'm used to getting in the US. Not to mention there was the language barrier. Considering how much has been spent on my pearly whites over the years--braces, a filling or two, a crown--I want as few problems as possible, so I'm picky about who I'll let poke around in my mouth. Since I liked my dentist in the US (as a person and a dentist) it made my decision about who to see much easier each year.
I'm now in a situation where I can't go home as easily (no more 2 month holidays) and I'm pretty sure I have a cavity. What to do?
Welcome to Thailand, the land of medical tourism! Thailand has great medical care, something they advertise and try to sell to people in other countries. If you can pay for it, Thailand has it, and the quality is often on par with western countries. Some hospitals are actually affiliated with hotels and tour packages can be bought. Most doctors speak some English--fluent English in the more expensive hospitals--and their training is excellent. So, it wasn't a hard choice to decide that I'd get my filling done here in Bangkok.
I started by perusing a few forums online to find recommendations for a good dentist. There were a few that kept popping up in my reading, so I googled them and checked their rates. Some had rates that were comparable to what I'd pay in the US (uh, no thanks) and some had rates that were much more affordable: white fillings start at 1000 B per surface. X-rays are about 150 B for a small set, 1000 for a full mouth.
Nervous, I called to ask a few questions. (Did I read the right part of the price chart? It seems too good to be true!) The woman I talked to was kind and understanding and helpful. I can meet with a specialist beforehand to determine what the exact problem is (is it one or two cavities?), and the best course of action to take. I can choose what I want done and what I might want to wait on. Then they do the work. While I'm not excited about going, I'm already feeling less stressed about it.
This story wouldn't be interesting without a twist in the plot. Nor would it be happening to me. On Sunday morning, while I was munching on my breakfast muesli, I suddenly felt like there was a rock in my mouth. How did a rock get into my expensive, imported cereal? When I finally fished it out, I realized it wasn't a rock, but rather a filling. Now there's a big, gaping hole in one of my teeth and I'm afraid to eat. I called my dentist a few hours later (when they opened) but there were no appointment openings on Monday. Tuesday morning would have to do.
Tuesday morning I arrived a bit early to check in. The lobby was quiet and most of the patients were foreigners or wealthier looking Thais. I was checked in quickly and issued my patient card and given a piece of paper with my info on it. I was told to take it with me to each place I visited (exam, x-ray, etc) and they'd record what they did. I would pay for it all at the end, rather than as I go. I made my way up to the 6th floor (this place is more like a mini-hospital than an office) and sat down to wait. Within five minutes I was meeting my dentist, telling her why I had come in, having a quick exam, and talking about what would happen that day. We agreed that getting x-rays was a good first step. Her assistant led me to the 4th floor and waited while they x-rayed my mouth. I got more than one partial rather than a full set; a partial is 150 B, where as a full set is 1000 B. Then the assistant and I went back upstairs.
My dentist was already waiting. She pulled up my x-rays on the computer and showed me that I needed a filling in the back of my mouth, too. She also showed me the tooth that was currently lacking its filling. We talked about the shadows, and how most likely, the filling had come loose and some bacteria had gotten under it and created a new, deep cavity. That's why it fell out. And why I probably needed a root canal. And a crown later on. (And you wonder why I hate going to the dentist?) They were nice enough to print it all out so I could look things over and decide what I wanted done that day or what I wanted to wait with. (I opted to wait a few months on the two, small cavities, since they're more cosmetic at this point.) She said she'd check with her colleague and I'd get a closer examination before anything was 100%!d(MISSING)ecided. Fingers crossed, I got my other filling.
Getting a filling was never so pleasant. They covered me with a blanket, slathered some Vaseline on my lips, gave me some Kanye-2007-like shades to wear to protect my face, and turned on some music at my request. Usually, I hate the music in dentists' offices, but now I realize it does help patients relax. She numbed my gums before sticking me with the novocaine needle, apologizing the whole time for what was actually a painless procedure. I promise, that Q-tip with the numbing gel didn't hurt a bit. When I got nervous, I hummed, which she found amusing. But I swear, it beats listening to what sounds like a chainsaw in my mouth.
After a nice lunch at the restaurant next door (eating was a pain with a broken tooth on one side and a numb face on the other) I went back to see the specialist. She was really nice, too, which somehow helps ease my anxiety. I sat in the chair, and she and her two assistants looked in my mouth. A few minutes later she said, "I'm going to start the root canal now." My heart sank, but I knew I didn't have much choice. The tooth needs fixing and I really wanted to start eating full meals again. Besides, I was already tucked in with my blanket and glasses. I sighed and she began. Nervous, I started humming again. For reasons I'm not sure of, I ended up humming "Jingle Bells" and at one point she even joined in with me. I wanted to laugh, but that's probably not a good idea when there's that much going on in your mouth.
I left after 4pm. My two hour appointment had become 6.5 hours. My whole face was numb. My brain was numb. I was hungry. I need to return in a week to get a permanent filling in my root canal tooth. Then I can come back the week after that for the crown. Well, two weeks for the crown, but that's standard. I'm not nervous about any of it, thankfully.
All in all, while this isn't quite how I envisioned my trip to the dentist, I'm relieved about 2 things:
1. This happened here, not in China or the US. (China we've covered; I can't afford the US prices.)
2. They take credit cards.
This wasn't what I wanted, but I'm really happy I have the means and the resources to get it fixed properly. And I'm really happy I can eat properly again.
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
Great personal experience...
I had a front tooth capped in Chiang Mai in 1974, which was replaced by a Canadian dentist at their air base in Baden-Sollingen, Germany in 1984...it's still doing well. I was born at BNH on Convent Rd near where you took the CELTA course. I took my kids to see it in 2007. What a change! I agree that medical treatment in Bangkok is first class...and you know the complete cost for any procedure up front...try that in the States! By the way, my son finished teaching in Bangkok and is now in law school in the UK. Glad to hear you are enjoying Bangkok.