The Dentist's Office

There are 2 places that I absolutely ABHOR going to.
1 is the doctor's office, the 2cd is the dentist's office.
They are both equally calloused in their treatment of clientele - whether you've been a long-term patient or a new one, it doesn't matter to these people. You're a number on a clipboard, a grouping of numbers on a computer screen.

So, I took Caleb - my son of course - to the dentist to have this chipped tooth checked out. I filled out all the paperwork - name, date of birth, on....and on.......and on............................and on...........................I was wondering where the "blood count" or even "sperm count" portion was. Maybe they should ask you about your sex life while they're at it. The amount of info they want is intrusive as far as I'm concerned.

I arrived early - I always do so that I can get paperwork filled out and have it done by the time the intended appointment time arrives. I have my own personal mandate that I inflict on doctors and dentists alike: I will NOT wait any longer than half an hour after the actual time of appointment. That's MAXIMUM, more often, if it goes beyond 15 minutes, I want to know what's going on, what happened to my appointment.

A man sitting next to me told me they were 48 minutes behind on his daughter's appointment. Wonderful. I told Caleb that if it went past half and hour, I would be demanding the paperwork back and I would find a different dentist for him - this was his first time at this dentist, no big deal.

25 minutes past the appointment time they came out and called him in. I'm sure they heard me talking to my son - the woman behind the desk was definitely listening to me tell my son the half hour deal.

It wasn't 15 minutes later - maybe 20 - and he and a nurse came out. I thought that pretty fast for doing a cleaning and an X-ray. Turns out they don't do cleanings on the first visit, they did do an X-Ray. I was apalled. I haven't been to a dentist in a long, long time - but every dentist I have EVER been to, they automatically do a cleaning on the first visit. The nurse takes us to the checkout counter. She says: Well, he has no cavities but his teeth need cleaning and he needs to have his wisdom teeth pulled.

I'm scratching my head: what about the chipped tooth? She tells me to wait, they're going to give me a "referral" to get the wisdom teeth pulled - that it should be done within the next year. Continuing to ignore the entire reason we came there in the first place, and waiting for an eternity for the lady behind the counter to deal with the lady that was in front of us - the lady finally leaves and we're up next. THIS lady starts talking about wisdom teeth. Wonderful.
"We came in to find out about my son's chipped tooth, what needed to be done. I haven't heard a single word about that yet. We can go ahead and make an appointment to have his wisdom teeth jerked, but first - I would love to hear about the reason why we came here in the first place". Something like that. I was respectful, but getting rather blunt.

This lady calls yet another lady and tells us to "wait over there". Lol. Turning into a circus now. Now this lady comes out. "The tooth is only slight chipped and there's really nothing wrong with it." Caleb responds that it feels very sharp and tears flesh easily. Yada yada yada more - nothing needs to be done about it.

I made another appointment for tomorrow - for both him and I. His teeth cleaning and have them check out my teeth - which haven't been checked since before that hour-long wait some years - and years - ago when I finally got disgusted with dentists and just - quit.

Umm, - whatever. They thanked me at the end for being so patient for having to wait so long. As I said, I was never rude to them, but - I can be very, very blunt about things at times - depending on the situation. I'll see what happens tomorrow. PERHAPS tonight was just a fluke.

So, I'm getting checked out and Ken calls. Mary locked herself out of her room - again. Yup, I have a key, nope, they can't get at it. It's locked in my closet and I will be home in - maybe 20 minutes. Mary was outside, watering plants when I got home. Found my copy of the key - the one she gave me and wondering why it so important I have a key to her room - and now I'm here. But not for long, this dentist visit has cashed me day out, and I have to get thinking about bed soon.

The ex is going in for her second hernia surgery tomorrow - and undoubtedly will be out of commission for a while. Michael just showed up - for living with his family he certainly spends a LOT of time over here.......not a problem with me, but he is always making excuses during the week why he is here and not over there. I really don't care - he doesn't have to make excuses, I only care that he gets his self in school every day.

Anyway, have a great evening.
ben