A whole year?

If you could look, Ma, you’d see no cavities

Chloe went to the dentist on Wednesday night. The dentist’s office was a house and Chloe said the assistant was the nurse from Minority Report, the one who works for the guy who swaps Tom Cruise’s eyeballs for a less-identifiable pair. It wasn’t as bloody, though, and they (the dentist and his assistant, not the eyeballs) were both very nice.

Thirty euros* for the exam and the X-rays, which she got to take home and she’s kind of excited that she has Spanish X-rays to keep. She has no cavities, but a wisdom tooth is coming in. Ana said they don’t routinely remove wisdom teeth in Spain. I’m guessing that’s an American thing, along with the belief that there is not a child born who does not need braces for one reason or another. He gave her a prescription for toothpaste for sensitive teeth, which could take four or five months to work. She’s just happy to know that she doesn’t have cavities that need to be filled.

*I wonder: We might say the exam cost us only thirty bucks. The British might say, instead of pounds, “Thirty quid for an exam and some films.” Is there a similar slang term for euro yet?

Fix it later

Alicia’s parents and I came up with the same solution for Alicia’s tooth at about the same time. It can easily cost $2,500+ for a root canal here. It costs about $120 in Spain (I’m guessing because of National Health?). Just as I was thinking that it might be better for Alicia to live with the temporary filling as long as possible (it doesn’t hurt at all now), and get it temporarily refilled if necessary until she gets home and can have it fixed permanently, she got off the phone with her parents who had suggested the same thing. They also wondered what Americans do in the same situation because they have to get the tooth fixed and make the pain go away, but surely they don’t spend $2,500 for a root canal?

Welcome to America. Now open wide.

Yesterday I had to take A to the dentist. He drilled out the recent filling, removed the pulp and dying nerve (or are those the same thing?), shot medicine up there, then filled it with a temporary. She has an appointment for the permanent root canal next Tuesday. I don’t know if they pay for dental work in Spain, but I think they will be shocked at the price of a root canal here. Then I found a place where she got a sports physical for $30 so she may start playing volleyball. She’s going to talk to her father about that vs. swimming. I think he’s going to tell her volleyball so she can meet more friends from school (swimming is here, so she won’t meet anyone from school), and it’s cheaper. She’s mostly interested in fitness so she doesn’t get fat, like almost all exchange students do, “but that’s okay.”