My almost husband and I (wedding in 10 days and counting) went to the dentist for our pre-wedding teeth cleaning. Both of us are not big fans of dentists, not because we have anything against dentists, but because we have a thing about other people's hands in our mouths. Follow me below the fold while I share an interesting conversation with my dentist.
Sorry I haven't written a diary in a long time. I seem to get caught up in other people's writing, and never get around to my own contribution. I'll try to be better in the future.
Returning to our story...
My dentist has always had a "do not talk politics" unspoken rule. I always respected that because it saved me the aggravation of having to explain my perspective on politics, etc. (believe me, I come from the red-leaning part of NJ. I am not the traditional product of my home community). So, imagine my surprise when he asked me, "So what do you think about this whole health care mess?" I told him the truth, of course. I said that I thought that it was crazy that the same people who were against government-run health care were saying things like "don't take away my medicare." I told him I thought it was a travesty that "the richest country in the world" didn't provide health care to its most vulnerable, especially children. And I told him that too many people could no longer afford to pay insurance, which drove up costs for all of us. And then I paused.
I was looking at my dentist, a man who volunteers his time to the community, provides installment payment options for his patients, and realized that I've heard nothing about dental care as part of a larger plan. When I told him that, we both sort of sat there, in shock.
As a public school teacher, I worked with many children who had no health care. A tooth ache was one of the biggest challenges to learning. If you've ever had a bad tooth ache, you know what I am talking about. Now imagine being eight, and trying to learn how to read. One's dental health is an important part of one's overall health. Healthy teeth mean a healthy life. There is research, solid research, that connects dental care to heart health. Problems in dental health can point to other health issues. And a dentist views your mouth in a completely different way than your doctor does. Chances are, if you have had a mouth cancer, your dentist would have caught it sooner than a GP would. That is, if you were seeing your dentist for a regular cleaning and check up. My dentist has helped me with my migraines (grinding my teeth), filled cavities, and also rebuilt the front of my teeth when they basically turned to goo from too many antibiotics as a child.
So, I have to wonder, who has talked to the dentists about health care? What, if anything, is mentioned in regard to dental health?