So we had our monthly foreign teachers meeting yesterday at the town city hall. It was the first time seeing all the company folks for the first time since winter break. I talked to Richard, from NYC, and the only other African-American in our crew. He was telling some us a recent horror story about his recent emergency visit to the dentist:
It seems he had a wisdom tooth which needed to be pulled--don't know if he had a cavity or not. Anyway, he gets to the dentist, and they give him local anesthesia to numb his mouth, but the dosage was ineffective and he didn't go numb--it turned out that the potency of Japanese anesthetics is much weaker than what's used in the U.S. So they started working on his tooth, and he could feel everything. He started screaming in pain, so they gave him more doses of the anesthetic. He ended up getting a total of about 9-10 shots in his mouth to induce numbing, and it STILL wasn't enough to numb him up. Another problem arose because the amount of anesthetic he'd received was way above the normal recommended limit, and the dentist told him he was afraid to give him more because it would pose a danger to his heart. At that point, they'd already sawed away at his wisdom tooth, and even broke it partially to drill a hole in the center to inject the anesthetic directly into his nerve. They had hacked the gum away around his tooth, which left his root exposed. He was in so much pain during the process that 2 female dental assistants had to hold his arms down and were yelling "Gamba! Gamba!," which translates to English as "Endure! Endure!" Finally, he begged the dentist to just yank his tooth out in one last effort to bring the agonizing pain to an end. He said he'd rather have dealt with the temporary, excruciating pain of the extraction and the subsequent bleeding than have to had taken anymore of the injecting, sawing and drilling. But it was just too much. In the end, he had to leave the dentist with his tooth and gums cut up and exposed. Afterwards, he was in so much pain, that he had to go to the hospital emergency room from work, where he discovered he had contracted an oral infection, due to the exposed nerve and roots. Now he has to take a bag of antibiotics and painkillers everday until he's able to get to another surgeon! Whew!
OH. MY. GOODNESS.
I must have been making the ugliest face ever when I heard that story. It almost hurt just to listen. Geez. That is exactly why I was wary about getting any dental work done in Japan. I do not trust Japanese dental care. Sorry for the international bias, but truth be told, I've seen the most rotten and crooked teeth in my life in Japan. It's quite common to see people with 2 and 3 layers of teeth, pointing in multiple directions. Japanese brands of toothpaste do not contain fluoride. Almost no one flosses, and orthodontics are not even close to being popular. Even the cutest of my students have rotten teeth--I even have first graders with crowns. Being in Japan has made me SO thankful for American dental care. All you Westerners should be thankful. I think the UN should make the availability of fluoride mandatory for all free world civilizations. Just the sheer paranoia of having to go to a dentist here has made me a brushing and flossing fanatic since I've been here. I'm on it everyday, even at school. I am SO glad I was able to get to the dentist before came back. Thank the Most High. Okay, enough ranting.
Just remember to count your blessings and count your teeth, cuz a lotta folks in the world are lacking both. Amen.
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