So last week I mustered the courage to actually go to the dentist. I haven't been in an amount of time that would horrify most civilized people, and given my temporary access to decent and affordable health care I figured I should take the chance.
And I managed to make it out alive.
But I have to say it was a strange experience.
I mean it was nice, because the visit didn't cost me anything. But then again, it wasn't like the typical dentist visit I used to have at home. They only picked at my teeth with the hook thing and then bufferred my teeth with funky toothpaste that tasted faintly like black licorice (yuck).
What was different to me was that the whole thing was much shorter and more business like. It was sort of like here's a taste of the dentist, now would you like to spend a lot more money? With a subtle-but-not-so-subtle hint that otherwise your teeth will all fall out and that you will look like crap. All this to try to sell me a 350euro teeth bleaching, a 600 euro partial crone for one of my teeth, and a 150 euro electric toothbrush. Just because it had this neat little timer---even though all cheaper models also have 30sec timers built in duh--. And she said she sold it cheaper (150 euros vs. 169 euros), but when I went to the store, it was the same price.
Then again, she did scare me enough to buy an electrical toothbrush, since my gums are sorta sensitive, but at least I was smart enough to pay only 40 euros for one. It's probably a good investment anyway, plus I think they are quite nifty anyway.
Overally I'm happy that I got my teeth cleaned, feels so much better!