This weekend I had to achieve two goals 1. get a Christmas tree 2. Get a dental clearance for the Antarctic Division.  It was going to be a big Saturday, starting with the tree…..

Last year I had the shittiest Christmas ever, I was in Saudi Arabia working the 12 hr shift from hell.  Will was in Sierra Leone having a slightly better day, well on a personal level he had a slightly better day….. its not really a fair comparison to make tho “…where would you prefer to spend Christmas… a country were celebrating Christmas is offensive or a country were every-one is dying from a hideous disease with no treatment options”…… it’s a tough call.  So anyway the year before that we were not a home either we went to New York and the year before that we were meant to be on a cruise but we got so bored we jump ship and came home early and didn’t bother putting up the decorations.  So this year I wanted decorations, tinsel and carols.  I am baking my arse off and loving every minute of it.  

So we needed a tree, we drove to the end of the road and there was a massive pile of trees, all smelling like pine and slightly sticky with resin.  We decided we wanted a fake one instead because they were really smelly and sticky.  So we drove of to the French inspired home decorating shop and found a fake tree and I asked the price and it was $380!!!!  I nearly fell over on the spot, seriously  OMG $400 for a fake tree.  So we drove back to the pile of trees at the bottom of the road and suddenly the slight stickiness seemed kind of cool and the smell was divine……. so we saved $350, woot woot I had done well.

So onto the second BIG chore of the weekend to go to Antarctica you need a dental clearance………. I don’t like dentists, I know no-one likes dentists but I really don’t like dentists.  I had so much orthodontist work when I was a child that it scared me for life.  Podiatrists also still have a similar effect…. yes I had crooked teeth and planter warts as a child… I was a very attractive 12 year old…… NOT!!!!

So ten years after my last trip to the dentist I had made an appointment and dragged myself along to Salamanca Dental, in Hobart earlier in the week.  I name them for a reason, which will become clear.  I had fessed up to not having been to the dentist for a few years, which as well as meaning I was expecting to have at least one filing also means I don’t know what is normal or best practice at a dentist.  I sat in the chair all sweaty palms and had a nice chat to the lovely dental nurse before an equally pleasant dentist arrived.  Before the dentist looked at my teeth she took 2 x-rays of my mouth, proceeded with an exam, then a clean, then a treatment then I was all finished and informed that I needed 5x filings and it would cost another $1100 in addition to the $330 that I was going to be charged for todays 30 min appointment.

I left thinking wow I can’t believe that I just let a medical professional do all that ‘work’ on my teeth with no discussion of the risks or benefits of x-rays, scale and clean or an anonomous treatment (which I later found out was a fluoride treatment).  I am a health professional and I just let her go right ahead and x-ray, polish and apply a ?treatment with no questions asked!!!!  So a little shocked and surprised that I needed so much work done, and thinking surely I should have some pain or something???  I turned to the Australian Dental Association schedule of fees and found that the average price for the treatments I had just received was approx $250.  So $80 extra for my naivety, not going to break the bank but I was shitty.

I did sit back and wonder if I was being a bit to harsh, I am rather cynical when it comes to dentists, used car salesman, mechanics in fact any-one who could benefit from taking advantage of my lack of knowledge on a subject.  Thankfully I didn’t have to feel like to much of a bitch, google tells me I am not the only one.  In 1997 William Ecenbarger did some research were he went to 50 different dentists across America to get a quote on what dental work he required.  The resulting treatment plans ranged from no work needed to $30,000 worth of treatment advised.  The dental community responded with predictable outrage at this article but more recently research articles in dental journals highlight the practice of creative dentistry AKA over treatment.

So I asked friends for recommendations and went to a local dentist in Victoria who didn’t see $$ signs on being asked to write me a letter giving dental clearance to go to Antarctica for 10 months.  Using the exact same x-rays that were taken in Tasmania……… my Victorian dentist tells me I required 1x filing and in addition I have one other area of enamel discolouration that the dentist wants to check in 12 month….. wow.  $160 compared to $1100, a total saving today of $1200 I think I can have the lobster tonight 🙂