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!
