nice goldwork

I went to my dentist today, Raymond Hsu in Redmond.

He believes in wellness. When you first go -- or if you've lapsed -- he does three appointments.

1. Research, 1.5 hours. Questionnaires, discussion, exams.
2. Review of Findings, 1/2 hour. Go over x-rays, plaque maps, and the plan he recommends. Agree on how to proceed.
3. Teeth Cleaning, 1 hour.

Dentistry has come a ways. While he was examining, I was given a big mirror so I could follow it. There's a computer by the chair. The screen is mounted high, easily visible.

Instead of x-rays, they use a digital camera & an imaging program called Shick. You can see the x-rays immediately.

As a kid, I went to the dentist a lot. All the kids on my road had soft teeth & lots of cavities. The kids on the next road had good teeth. Our well water, we found out years later, was full of chemicals from the strawberry farm. The other road had city water.

I am remarkably resistant to novocaine. My body absorbs it cheerfully with no signs of numbness the first several shots. Then bam. And I burn through it fast.

I still have my childhood habit of falling asleep as the dentist works. It is one of my most deeply meditative states. I could feel it coming over me as I sat in the chair today, my whole body relaxing, eyes closing.

The first thing any dentist says to me is Nice goldwork.

At 21, I saw Stanley Lent, a dentist in Palo Alto. He was 27, his first year of practice. He said, "You have crappy teeth and lead fillings. You need gold crowns NOW if you want to keep those teeth."

I've had those crowns to this day.