Sunday, October 3, 2010

British Teeth Explained

*Now* I understand.  After resisting for the 2.5 years I've been here, I finally broke down & went to the dentist yesterday.  It's been a year since I saw my US dentist, and it's going to be a while before I see him again, so I decided to bite the bullet & go to the dentist here. I decided to book a checkup & cleaning appointment, and there's a dentist around the corner from the flat who is open on Saturdays.  What could be easier?

I was in and out of the office in 40 minutes-and 15 of that involved paperwork and reading a magazine while waiting.  The sum total of time I was with the dentist?  25 minutes.  In this 25 minutes, he checked my teeth, ran two x-rays-and reviewed them, and put a bit of composite seal on the back of a tooth that was looking a bit 'iffy.'  He said my teeth were clean enough with no tartar that warranted a cleaning (thank you Sonicare!), so off I went.  At first, while walking home, I was tickled that the appointment didn't take that long.  But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized just how indicative this appointment must be to the general attitude of the Brits to their teeth; case in point:  in September, Simon finally broke down & went to the dentist for the first time in 3 years!  I'm pretty sure the only reason he went was to get me off his back.  And, here I am worried that it's been a year.  hm.

I can't remember a time that I was in & out of a dentist's office in less than an hour-and I certainly can't remember a time while I was there for a checkup that a cleaning wasn't almost manditory.  But, with my dental professional's almost chill attitude about my teeth, now I understand why toothcare seems to be such a low priority for most Brits.  Yes, I realize I'm stereotyping a bit, and on some level, the flip-side of all of this is that perhaps we Americans are a bit *too* obsessed with our teeth, but as I personally plan to take my one and only set of adult teeth to the grave with me, I can't imagine being any other way.

Glad this mystery has finally been solved!

London's Newest Cool Attraction

Last Sunday, thru the beauty that is Groupon, Simon & I went and had brunch at London's Newest Cool Attraction:  Altidude 360.

The brunch was off to a dubious start before it even began as we had problems with the reservation, but once we got all of that sorted, this ended up being one of the coolest things I've done in London in *ages*! Altidude 360 sits on the 29th floor of the Millbank Centre (on Millbank, almost due north across the river from London Eye).   Our Groupon entitled us to arrival cocktails, brunch, more cocktails, and 360 degrees of uninterrupted view of London.  Not too shabby. :)

The cocktails were scrumptious, the brunch, though it was really 'English Breakfast', (which I can take or leave..) was outstanding, and the views?....A-mazing.  Our Groupon entitles us free access to the floor any time between now & the end of the year, and I can guarantee you, we'll be back many times!  Amazing.  See for yourself!~