"Smile Loud"

In Uganda the dental care options are limited and honestly kind of scary.  It has been a year since my last cleaning and that was when I was in the US.  The Kijabe Hospital in Kenya has a dental clinic, and last week Jessica and I both too advantage of this service.  I usually like going to the dentist... love that smooth, clean teeth feeling.  Jessica had a very thorough cleaning done by a hygienist named Millicent. In fact Jessica had to take Ibuprofen because the pain in her gums was so intense. Millicent... sounds a bit like that character in Sleeping Beauty... What was her name?  Naturally I was a little less enthusiastic about this visit, especially since I had a years worth of plaque to chisel off.  When I arrived in the clinic things were pretty western looking.  There was a waiting room where we all sat on cement benches.  Music was playing in the background.  Christian music, because this is a mission operation.  Point of Grace, I think... something from when I was in middle school.  The reading material was also a little outdated. It appeared that the only choices were National Geographic from before I was born.

I eventually was called back and ushered into a little room to wait for the hygienist.  Again, pretty normal, a dentist chair (only a few cracks in the vinyl), and appropriate looking tools.  No artwork or dental licenses on the wall or garfield posters on the ceiling.  I sat in the chair, which was kind of awkward because it was still reclined. I tried sitting side saddle, but this was weird too with the arm rests.  I turned around spying into the other rooms to see how other people were sitting.  In one room the chair was up.  Well that was unhelpful, since I wasn’t about to push buttons or levers on this thing.  This other guy was straddling the chair, sitting kind of hunch backed while he read his National Geographic.  So, I attempted to do the same while reading my book.  

The hygienist did finally arrive.  I quickly asked what her name was.... Hannah... phew!  The first thing she did was take x-rays.  She pulled x-ray machine down and made a ton of adjustments moving it all around my head, inserted that cardboard film thing, and told me to, “smile.”  I thought this was funny for multiple reasons.  The first most obviously being that this was an x-ray which would going right through my soft tissue.  The second was because I remembered Jessica telling me that Millicent had asked her to, “Smile loud” before she took her x-ray.  I was smiling at this point, even suppressing laughter which, by the way, makes those cardboard things even more uncomfortable.

After this Hannah laid a crispy sun dried hand towel over my chest and started to work on the plaque removal.  Thankfully she was gentle on the gums, but her method was definitely hands on.  At one point the palm of her hand was resting in my eye socket and my hair was a mess by the end.  After the cleaning came the polishing.  Little bits of the gritty polish started flying in the air and I closed my eyes.  At this point I was getting a good bit of saliva build up, and I really wanted her to use that suction thingy.  When she did I could see why she had waited so long.  It was just an open tube with A LOT of suction that kept getting stuck to my my cheek and tongue.  She also started using that little water sprayer.  It too had a lot of power and my face became covered with heavy mist.  I closed my eyes again and tried to keep from laughing as parts of my mouth kept getting sucked up and Hannah apologized for the water and dabbed my face with the crispy towel.  

One last thing to do... the flossing and of corse the final examination from the dentist. He came in, greeted me and began holding my x-rays up to a rather dim light bulb... good thing I smiled.  I am happy to report that, despite my lapse in cleanings, I have no cavities and healthy gums.  And Hannah had done great... no pain.  And the whole thing cost only $16!