A hearty Bonjour from Sophie who has spent the night under the sideboard in the downstairs hall. Starting at three, and lasting for a full hour, there was a cymbal clashing thunderstorm. Sophie usually doesn't notice thunderstorms but this was one of those shake the foundations variety. It also seemed to have got stuck directly overhead where its grumbling and banging played to maximum effect.
By six there's little sign that there had ever been a storm. The sky is free of clouds , the air is crisp and the ground underfoot is dry. Sophie hurtles off to the stream. This morning she skips. Her start of day is made even better by a post walk trip in the car for a shared croissant. This mornings offering is light, fluffy and cooked just right. A 9.3/10.
Yesterdays birthday visit to the French dentist was an interesting insight into differences between the two countries.
The surgery, when I arrive, is devoid of life. A sign at the reception desk informs me to 1) wear a mask 2) wash my hands in antiseptic gel 3) take a seat in the waiting room and 4) maintain 2 metres distance from other patients. Angus has a chance to observe a floral arrangement on the waiting room table. Angus had never thought that floral arrangements could be nightmarish but this one is. The sound of a high speed drill drifts through the air.
There's a twenty five minute delay in seeing the dentist. This fact is ignored by a woman in purple scrubs who emerges from a side door with a small blue plastic cup filled with a brown liquid. '' Go into the bathroom and rinse with this " she informs me with a matter of factness that is peculiarly French. She then disappears. Five minutes later she reappears and ushers me into the surgery. ' Get onto the chair and keep your mask on ' . Or, this I what I think I'm told but her dental mask and face shield make understanding difficult.
The purple scrubbed woman is not the dentist. This it turns out is a younger woman in a canary yellow smock and lime green trousers. She is not wearing a visor but a mask and what appears to be a pair of ski goggles. Communication with her is easier but hampered by Angus's lack of dental French. Who ever knew two languages could have such different terms for teeth ?
After an x-ray, much prodding , a lecture on brushing more thoroughly ( this is a standard trope in all dental visits ) the brightly dressed dentist informs me that I need a crack repaired and a new filing. ' How long will it take ?' asks Angus. '' No more than forty five minutes " comes the reply. Angus assumes it will be done there and then but is quickly disabused of that notion. I'm the last patient they're seeing before the surgery closes down for three weeks. I'm given a prescription for antibiotics , a medical mouthwash and an appointment on August 21st. On my way out the dentist notices it's my birthday. Suddenly three more women appear. They stand in a line behind the reception desk, congratulate me, take off their masks and sing 'Joyeux anniversaire'. This sweet little gesture may not do much for restricting aerosol dispersion - but there again I was the last patient for 3 weeks. For the first time I see them smile.
Reading while waiting for the dentist : https://undark.org/2020/07/20/does-your-child-really-need-braces/
9 comments:
What a story - I really wasn't expecting the last bit! And speaking as a florist's daughter, I agree, that is a really dreadful arrangement - it makes me miss the wilted aspidastra at your barbershop. The article on orthodontics was interesting. My daughter is at the (we hope) final stage of her orthodontic adventures. Braces are not very common in Japan, not covered by national health, and shockingly expensive. I think it was necessary in her case, but I am glad my son decided the gap between his front teeth is cute (like Arnold Schwarzenneger!)
Hari OM
Crikey - at least you got this much attention. Dear old dad with his rocky denture and broken three lower teeth is nowhere near getting to his dentist... keep those sunflower piccies coming! YAM xx
Nothing quite like sitting in the dentist's waiting room listening to the background sound of the high speed drill - with or without nightmarish flower arrangements to gaze upon. I am wondering if Angus will be investigating how soon his London dentist could treat him. A month is a long time to be eating soft pasta.
The article about the poor evidence base for orthodontics treatment was interesting. An American friend has for decades predicted that my uneven and crowded lower teeth will cause problems, but so far so good... I am at least an enthusiastic brusher and flosser!
Cheers, Gail.
I dislike the triffid arrangement too. I wonder if someone took it home for the holidays? I thought that they might have just done it there and then for you.
Sunflowers look great.
Even in deepest, deepest Speyside profond, there are now similarities with your dentist's visit - mask, hand sanitiser and so on, with added temperature check on entry. Recent medical history will be taken by phone before the appointment and anyone with symptoms is excluded at that point. No waiting room in use - patients have to wait in their car until summoned into the consulting room. Of course the Scottish climate in summer is such that it's not even a thought to ask patients to wait outside! I have an appointment next month, so I am agog to see the promised "enhanced levels of PPE" patients have been warned about. My dentist is a keen field sports enthusiast - wonder if any of that kit will make an appearance in place of ski goggles? Hope the antibiotics do the trick during your wait.
Mon Dieu!! That arrangement is absolutely Terrible! I can only surmise that someone told the florist the curtains were maroon and green! I do hope the antibiotics work. If you have pain panadol doesn't fix, try taking a whole clove and placing it on the gemlike near the sore tooth. In "the olden days" oil of cloves was a common remedy, and until a few years ago it was a used in making filling lining material....
The flower arrangement resembles the day of the Triffids - did it move! It was nice of them to wish you a happy birthday, in song, but be thankful they didn't offer you the flower arrangement as a gift!
Poor Sophie, she doesn't look particularly hearty in the first photo - she looks more like a girl who needs to catch up on her sleep.
Happy belated Birthday wishes, Angus!
Once again, this post so closely reflects what we're doing in the dental office where I work. Except for the floral arrangement - We actually have sunflowers that someone brought for us on Monday,as our fields in Maryland come into peak bloom.
A very Happy Birthday to you!
xxx
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