So, I'm happy to report that I am now a "proud owner" of a new permanent filling in my tooth. It ONLY took 5 trips to the dentist, two of which were to make appointments...quite crazy. This was by far my best trip though. I got there 45 minutes before my appointment, as they tell you to get there 30 minutes before. They were able to get me in early and were able to quickly tell me that I did not need a root canal...what a relief! That was not an experience I was hoping to face here. I managed to get my filling and be back in the car at the time that my appointment was supposed to start.
Anyways, the dentist didn't even need to numb my mouth. She drilled the temporary filling out and put in the new one. I asked for my record, but she wouldn't give it to me. All I know is that it was in my lower left 6 tooth and she put in a composite filling...I guess I'll wait to see what Dr. Gordon says whenever I see him next.
She says if it breaks again, I'll need a crown, but I won't worry about that until it happens. A bonus to the entire situation is that I didn't pay a thing...so, my X-Ray and filling were FREE! Although it was a pain to go in so many times, thank you public health care. ;)
~ Kristin
Monday, February 9, 2015
Thursday, February 5, 2015
If it doesn't make sense, it does in Doha
After being here for over a year, we have come to find many things that honestly just don't make sense. Don't get me wrong, overall we have been pleasantly surprised with how much we enjoy Qatar and have absolutely loved our time here. We can't help but laugh and sometimes just get plain frustrated at some of the things here though, but that goes for anywhere.
With that said, one thing we have learned is that if it doesn't make sense to the average person, it does here. I can't fully explain it other than us having numerous situations where we truly question why something has been done a certain way and not another, etc. A good example is my dental experience these past couple of months.
The night of Qatar National Day (December 18), my tooth broke, luckily with no pain. It being at night and a national holiday, nowhere was open and we were flying out the next day for Thailand. So, I put going on the dentist on hold until we came back...there in which my saga truly begins.
The day we came back, I researched who to even call to set up a dentist appointment. I have a health insurance card, but couldn't tell you anything about my "coverage", but saw on the back of the card that my medical clinic was number 56. In my head I questioned what did 56 mean and where was clinic number 56? It would only make sense for there to be a name with the clinic number or something to help me figure out where my clinic was...NOPE, nothing. Luckily I found an expat blog that gave a link to help match the clinic number on my insurance card with the location and name of the clinic.
I then called to see if I could set up an appointment to see the dentist. The man on the other end said to come in before 11:00am and they should be able to get me in. I was a bit surprised, but considering it was over winter break, I assumed maybe they had some more availability and I didn't think much of it. Boy was I wrong... I made sure to get there well before 11:00 am, and walked up to the counter to inform the woman I would like to see the dentist. After her realizing I did not have a current appointment and that it was not an emergency (my tooth was not bleeding or swollen, to my knowledge), she told me I needed to make an appointment. I was a bit frustrated, as I was told I would be able to get in that day, but clearly the man I spoke to meant I could make an appointment that day. My main question was, why couldn't I have just done this over the phone? In my mind that is what would make sense...not here though! Instead we had to drive 15-20 minutes to the health clinic to just make a sticking appointment...why?! I was thoroughly annoyed to find that they could either schedule the appointment for 2 weeks at that point and I would have to miss school (which I hate doing!) or at the end of the month. I sucked it up and chose in 2 weeks... At this point I'm already missing my dentist, Dr. Gordon, back home, but reminded myself that at least this will be cheaper (hopefully!).
So, two weeks passed and I left two-three lessons early from school, which was annoying in itself because other teachers have to cover for me, and I hate that they did because this wasn't an emergency. Anyways, I had called the local taxi company 2 days prior to schedule for them to come and pick me up at school. I get outside 5 minutes before they should arrive to make sure I was ready to go when they came. I later realized that didn't matter at all...I waited and waited and waited...15 minutes pass and I called the company to check on the driver. He "is 5-10 minutes away", which in Doha time could be anywhere from 15-30 ish minutes. I was quite upset as I was then going to be cutting it close. Another 10 minutes pass (20 minutes passed the scheduled pickup time) and I call again to find that the driver is looking for my flat. I LOST it and gave the driver quite an ear-full... I was specific in telling them to pick up at our school and time, at this point I am going to be late. The driver's English is not the greatest, but he could definitely pick up that I was angry. At that point I nearly broke down right then and there at the gate to our school near the guards, as all I wanted to do was get into a car and drive to the dentist myself. I am used to not driving for the most part, but this was a tipping point for me. I was going to be late for my early check-in, but called another private driver to pick me up. They came within 15 minutes, which was now 5 minutes from the time my appointment needed to start. I told him my situation and was on the verge of tears. He then drove like a crazy man to try to get me there as fast as he could. People already drive crazy here, but this was another level. I was gripping the door for extra support.
So, I get there 15 minutes after my appointment should have started, 45 minutes after I was supposed to arrive, and the woman at the desk told me it was cancelled, because I was late. The tears began just running down my face as I was so frustrated for so many reasons...being late (I HATE being late), not having the luxury to just drive myself, missing school and then it being for nothing, not being able to get my tooth fixed, and honestly just wishing I could go to Dr. Gordon to get it fixed. A couple of Arab men came up and spoke to her, and I don't know if it was something they said or the fact that I was crying, but she told me she would talk to the dentist to see what she could do. During this time, the driver was waiting for me to see if I would get an appointment or not. The dentist agreed to see me, but when I came in she clearly was upset I was late even after I explained the situation. She was only able to give me a temporary filling, which only lasted a week, but it was free so no complaints... The dentist told me to make an appointment soon so that she can put a real filling in. When I was done, I went back to make an appointment and the woman told me they were full for the rest of January and would not start taking appointments for February until January 25th. I didn't have the energy to even argue or question it at this point, but inside couldn't help but AGAIN question WHY?! THIS DOES NOT MAKE SENSE! Anyways, luckily the driver remained in the parking lot and was able to take me home.
Fast forward until January 25th when Mark and I went to make my appointment for February. I had learned I can't call, so we decided to go right after tutoring. He had a meeting that night, but I was thinking in my head we'll be "in and out", again, I was WRONG! You would think I would start to begin to anticipate these things. We walk up to the counter to make an appointment, and as soon as the woman realized I didn't have a current appointment she handed me a manilla card with the number 3 on it. She told me she was on #5, and would go to 30 and start over. My mouth nearly dropped with confusion and needed her to reiterate that I had to wait in line to just make an appointment. I looked at the 15 other people waiting and asked if they were all waiting to make an appointment. I saw heads nod and I was in disbelief yet again.... Mark and I walked to the back and sat down in the hard black chairs and couldn't help but laugh at the absolute ridiculousness of this situation. We were both in good spirits about the whole thing, but just couldn't believe we had to wait in line...grr!! After 35 minutes of waiting we finally heard #3, and we quickly shot up out of our seats and walked to the counter. Although the wait was annoying, she was luckily able to get my appointment to be over our February break, so then I would not have to miss school. We walked out of in a bit disbelief at the situation yet again, but relieved to have the appointment made.
Well, that brings us to today, when I went get my filling. I honestly didn't get nervous about having someone other than the infamous Dr. Gordon work in my mouth, until I sat in the chair. I first had an X-ray to see the full damage and the dentist didn't seem too concerned about what she saw on my X-ray. She gave me an anesthetic, which I later found to not be enough... The shrilling noise of the drill/whatever dentists do before putting in the filling was quite annoying. The pain from that process was quite intense at certain points and I was gripping the chair and whining through part of the process. Yes, I was "that" patient, but I couldn't help it. I was glad I at least managed to keep my mouth opened the entire time instead of clamping it shut.
As much as I love the dentist, there was nothing about this experience I could say I enjoyed. To make matters worse, the dentist told me there was a lot of decay and it was worse than she originally thought. She is concerned that the damage is too close to the root, so she gave me another partial filling (not sure if it's the same as before or not), and told me to come back on Sunday for a follow up appointment. She wants to see how my tooth/root does with temporary filling this weekend and will give me a permanent filling insh'allah (G od willing) on Sunday.
So, now I have to go back AGAIN and am not sure when this saga will end. :( I'm quite frustrated at this point, as I just want this to be taken care of. Luckily, the dentist was able to get me an appointment for Sunday night, so I don't miss school, but can't tutor. She indicated I may have to get a root canal, but she will know more on Sunday. Fortunately, as of now, a few hours after the anesthetic has worn off, I don't have any pain. Based on what she said, as long as I'm not in pain, I will not need a root canal...at least that is what I'm hoping. On the brighter side, we have yet to pay for anything. I don't think we truly should, considering the problem hasn't been fixed permanently yet, but would have assumed I would have paid for the X-Ray. So, I'm a bit nervous for the "final" appointment to see if they slam me with a big bill or will this all be "taken care of", because I am going through our "insurance"/public aid. Time will tell...
Wow, this is really long...I'll go ahead and post now, and keep you updated in a separate post after Sunday.
To be continued...
With that said, one thing we have learned is that if it doesn't make sense to the average person, it does here. I can't fully explain it other than us having numerous situations where we truly question why something has been done a certain way and not another, etc. A good example is my dental experience these past couple of months.
The night of Qatar National Day (December 18), my tooth broke, luckily with no pain. It being at night and a national holiday, nowhere was open and we were flying out the next day for Thailand. So, I put going on the dentist on hold until we came back...there in which my saga truly begins.
The day we came back, I researched who to even call to set up a dentist appointment. I have a health insurance card, but couldn't tell you anything about my "coverage", but saw on the back of the card that my medical clinic was number 56. In my head I questioned what did 56 mean and where was clinic number 56? It would only make sense for there to be a name with the clinic number or something to help me figure out where my clinic was...NOPE, nothing. Luckily I found an expat blog that gave a link to help match the clinic number on my insurance card with the location and name of the clinic.
I then called to see if I could set up an appointment to see the dentist. The man on the other end said to come in before 11:00am and they should be able to get me in. I was a bit surprised, but considering it was over winter break, I assumed maybe they had some more availability and I didn't think much of it. Boy was I wrong... I made sure to get there well before 11:00 am, and walked up to the counter to inform the woman I would like to see the dentist. After her realizing I did not have a current appointment and that it was not an emergency (my tooth was not bleeding or swollen, to my knowledge), she told me I needed to make an appointment. I was a bit frustrated, as I was told I would be able to get in that day, but clearly the man I spoke to meant I could make an appointment that day. My main question was, why couldn't I have just done this over the phone? In my mind that is what would make sense...not here though! Instead we had to drive 15-20 minutes to the health clinic to just make a sticking appointment...why?! I was thoroughly annoyed to find that they could either schedule the appointment for 2 weeks at that point and I would have to miss school (which I hate doing!) or at the end of the month. I sucked it up and chose in 2 weeks... At this point I'm already missing my dentist, Dr. Gordon, back home, but reminded myself that at least this will be cheaper (hopefully!).
So, two weeks passed and I left two-three lessons early from school, which was annoying in itself because other teachers have to cover for me, and I hate that they did because this wasn't an emergency. Anyways, I had called the local taxi company 2 days prior to schedule for them to come and pick me up at school. I get outside 5 minutes before they should arrive to make sure I was ready to go when they came. I later realized that didn't matter at all...I waited and waited and waited...15 minutes pass and I called the company to check on the driver. He "is 5-10 minutes away", which in Doha time could be anywhere from 15-30 ish minutes. I was quite upset as I was then going to be cutting it close. Another 10 minutes pass (20 minutes passed the scheduled pickup time) and I call again to find that the driver is looking for my flat. I LOST it and gave the driver quite an ear-full... I was specific in telling them to pick up at our school and time, at this point I am going to be late. The driver's English is not the greatest, but he could definitely pick up that I was angry. At that point I nearly broke down right then and there at the gate to our school near the guards, as all I wanted to do was get into a car and drive to the dentist myself. I am used to not driving for the most part, but this was a tipping point for me. I was going to be late for my early check-in, but called another private driver to pick me up. They came within 15 minutes, which was now 5 minutes from the time my appointment needed to start. I told him my situation and was on the verge of tears. He then drove like a crazy man to try to get me there as fast as he could. People already drive crazy here, but this was another level. I was gripping the door for extra support.
So, I get there 15 minutes after my appointment should have started, 45 minutes after I was supposed to arrive, and the woman at the desk told me it was cancelled, because I was late. The tears began just running down my face as I was so frustrated for so many reasons...being late (I HATE being late), not having the luxury to just drive myself, missing school and then it being for nothing, not being able to get my tooth fixed, and honestly just wishing I could go to Dr. Gordon to get it fixed. A couple of Arab men came up and spoke to her, and I don't know if it was something they said or the fact that I was crying, but she told me she would talk to the dentist to see what she could do. During this time, the driver was waiting for me to see if I would get an appointment or not. The dentist agreed to see me, but when I came in she clearly was upset I was late even after I explained the situation. She was only able to give me a temporary filling, which only lasted a week, but it was free so no complaints... The dentist told me to make an appointment soon so that she can put a real filling in. When I was done, I went back to make an appointment and the woman told me they were full for the rest of January and would not start taking appointments for February until January 25th. I didn't have the energy to even argue or question it at this point, but inside couldn't help but AGAIN question WHY?! THIS DOES NOT MAKE SENSE! Anyways, luckily the driver remained in the parking lot and was able to take me home.
Fast forward until January 25th when Mark and I went to make my appointment for February. I had learned I can't call, so we decided to go right after tutoring. He had a meeting that night, but I was thinking in my head we'll be "in and out", again, I was WRONG! You would think I would start to begin to anticipate these things. We walk up to the counter to make an appointment, and as soon as the woman realized I didn't have a current appointment she handed me a manilla card with the number 3 on it. She told me she was on #5, and would go to 30 and start over. My mouth nearly dropped with confusion and needed her to reiterate that I had to wait in line to just make an appointment. I looked at the 15 other people waiting and asked if they were all waiting to make an appointment. I saw heads nod and I was in disbelief yet again.... Mark and I walked to the back and sat down in the hard black chairs and couldn't help but laugh at the absolute ridiculousness of this situation. We were both in good spirits about the whole thing, but just couldn't believe we had to wait in line...grr!! After 35 minutes of waiting we finally heard #3, and we quickly shot up out of our seats and walked to the counter. Although the wait was annoying, she was luckily able to get my appointment to be over our February break, so then I would not have to miss school. We walked out of in a bit disbelief at the situation yet again, but relieved to have the appointment made.
Well, that brings us to today, when I went get my filling. I honestly didn't get nervous about having someone other than the infamous Dr. Gordon work in my mouth, until I sat in the chair. I first had an X-ray to see the full damage and the dentist didn't seem too concerned about what she saw on my X-ray. She gave me an anesthetic, which I later found to not be enough... The shrilling noise of the drill/whatever dentists do before putting in the filling was quite annoying. The pain from that process was quite intense at certain points and I was gripping the chair and whining through part of the process. Yes, I was "that" patient, but I couldn't help it. I was glad I at least managed to keep my mouth opened the entire time instead of clamping it shut.
As much as I love the dentist, there was nothing about this experience I could say I enjoyed. To make matters worse, the dentist told me there was a lot of decay and it was worse than she originally thought. She is concerned that the damage is too close to the root, so she gave me another partial filling (not sure if it's the same as before or not), and told me to come back on Sunday for a follow up appointment. She wants to see how my tooth/root does with temporary filling this weekend and will give me a permanent filling insh'allah (G od willing) on Sunday.
So, now I have to go back AGAIN and am not sure when this saga will end. :( I'm quite frustrated at this point, as I just want this to be taken care of. Luckily, the dentist was able to get me an appointment for Sunday night, so I don't miss school, but can't tutor. She indicated I may have to get a root canal, but she will know more on Sunday. Fortunately, as of now, a few hours after the anesthetic has worn off, I don't have any pain. Based on what she said, as long as I'm not in pain, I will not need a root canal...at least that is what I'm hoping. On the brighter side, we have yet to pay for anything. I don't think we truly should, considering the problem hasn't been fixed permanently yet, but would have assumed I would have paid for the X-Ray. So, I'm a bit nervous for the "final" appointment to see if they slam me with a big bill or will this all be "taken care of", because I am going through our "insurance"/public aid. Time will tell...
Wow, this is really long...I'll go ahead and post now, and keep you updated in a separate post after Sunday.
To be continued...
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