To put it out there, I almost always have cavities when I go to the dentist despite having pretty good oral care. I'm typically in the habit of having a dental check up every six months, but this year with the move and Coronavirus I've fallen off of my routine. That's not to say I wasn't trying! I called Lux Med (the medical provider) in May and was told they were not doing non-emergency appointments. I called again in early July and then again in mid-August before I got an appointment for 10 September.
Lux Med manages all sorts of medical care coordination and there are about 15 locations throughout the city. When you make an appointment, you can specify if you need an English-speaker provider and if there is a particular doctor you want to see. If you don't have a preference you get booked at whichever facility has the next available appointment. When I called for a dentist appointment, they asked me "what type of dentist appointment?" I didn't really know how to answer that question so I said a check up and a cleaning, and was informed that those are two separate visits. Since all of the hygienist were fully booked, I only made the checkup appointment.
The Lux Med facility I was booked at was about 40 minutes away by bus and located in a big office complex. After checking in at the receptionist desk, they send me to wait outside room 27 to wait. I was early so in the 20 minutes I was sitting there someone else got called into the room and was sent back out. Before I got called in they had me fill out a page-long medical questionnaire with the basics: do you take any medicine, what are you allergic to, are you pregnant, etc.
When I was asked into the room, there was nothing unique about it. It had a set of cabinets, the dental chair, and a small desk with a computer. It looked like the base of every dentist office I had ever been in. Both the dentist and her assistant were fully masked up, but what I could see of her eyes and hair my guess is she was about my age. She started by going through a list of Coronavirus questions before sitting me in the dentist chair.
It was very quick. They gave me a cup of pink liquid to rinse out my mouth with, and then the dentist quickly surveyed each tooth and called out numbers to her assistant. She then gave me a mirror and pointed out the dark spots on my teeth, which was kind of neat. I asked her about a sensitive tooth and she took an extra look at it and was able to tell me I was probably brushing too hard and in the wrong direction. Before swapping me out for the next patient, the doctor sat me down at the computer again and looked to see if my insurance covered an x-ray and fillings for all three of my cavities. Since it did, she signed off on a paper prescription for the x-ray and sent me on my way. The whole ordeal was less than 15 minutes, and I was a little miffed that I had bused 40 minutes for this.
I also didn't know what to do with my x-ray prescription. Was I supposed to call and make another appointment 3 weeks later? I went back up to the receptionist desk and I was pleased when they sent me to another room in the facility. As I waited another person came by and asked me what time my appointment was, and I truly didn't know; I was worried I maybe misunderstood when and where I was supposed to be. That guy got called in, and then about five minutes later he left and I was called in as his replacement.
The x-ray machine was awesome! As I stood with my chin resting on a little plastic bench the machine's arm swooshed around my body. It was way quicker and more comfortable than the other x-ray experiences I had in the past. This was definatley the highlight of Polish medical care! The radiologist informed me that if my doctor was within Lux Med then they would have access to my x-rays tomorrow, and if not I could come by next week to pick up my x-rays.
She sent me on my way, and I once again was left not knowing exactly what to do next. I stopped by the receptionist again to set up my next appointment for the cavities. There wasn't anything available next week (which I have taken off of work) but she had an appointment available the next day.
Friday I returned and was directed to the neighboring door to where I was at on Thursday. I was surprised to see that the receptions were different from the day before, and from what I could tell the assistant for dentist #1 also was different. When I was welcomed into the room, I surprised the dentist and assistant by announcing I only spoke English. The assistant was shocked but the dentist nodded and said "it's ok."
I didn't have to go through the Coronavirus questionnaire and although the same cup of pink liquid was sitting next to me I was not asked to use it. The dentist started off by asking me which cavity I wanted to fill in. I was not expecting that question, and I immediately responded "can you do all of them." That shocked her and she looked down at her watch and said "oh no, I don't think we have time for that. Just one."
Not sure how to respond, I told her to fix the worst one–it's not like I have a favorite cavity. She took another look and said that since they were all surface-level cavities if I didn't need anesthetics then she might be able to do all three. That's fine with me! I really didn't want to have to come back for two more appointments.
Leading up to the point where she started drilling holes in my teeth, there were some things that made me nervous. For one, this dentist looked to be nearing her retirement. Then, when she was checking her tools she could not get one to spray a consistent stream of water, it seemed to only mist. Her assistant couldn't figure it out either so she left the room to find a replacement. During that time, the dentist accidentally started raising my chair and could not figure out how to get it back down again for a solid minute. The assistant returned and the new tool head didn't fix the water problem, so she left again to grab a different woman who promptly showed that my dentist simply was pressing the wrong button.
Finally, once all of the equipment was set up the dentist set up my chair. She pulled the head rest back in a strange position and then kept the chair in the upright position. It wasn't wholly uncomfortable until the dentist started pressing down on my tongue which clogged up my breathing. The rest of the procedure was pretty standard to what I've known before. She drilled all three holes and then directed me to rinse with the pink liquid. It was strange being able to explore the holes with my tongue, but then putting down the filling putty and drying it out with a UV light was the same. The clean up was also normal, but there's a little bit of residual filling on the side of my teeth.
Overall it was not the best dental experience I've had, but it also wasn't the worst. When I was retelling this story to some friends back home someone argued that this is an example of why the United Sates will never move to universal health care. Yes, it was a little odd and impersonal, but it was fully covered by my health insurance and it got the job done. In Poland, many people do choose to still go to a private provider if they want a more intimate experience, but I don't feel any need to pay for something that I can get for free.
The outside of the dentists' doors- day 1 and day 2. There are probably about 50 rooms at the Lux Med facility I was at and they all look pretty much the same.
They had me fill this out at my first visit. Aft fist they gave me a Polish version but when they saw me using Google Translate to interpret what I was signing they found an English version for me.
There weren't very many other people in the hallways while I waited. I wasn't sure if that was because it was mid-afternoon on a weekday, if the dentist wing is just typically infrequently attended, or if people are choosing to avoid non-emergency medical care right now.
Also, we move! This view is accessible about a block away from our house.
Of course a move mandates a stope at IKEA. We probably spent 2-3 hours in the store and these kiełbasi were very appetizing afterwards. IKEA even had a vege version.
Also it was my birthday, and of course Cameron's baking skills were put to the test. He made a layered meringue with coffee, hazelnut, and chocolate flavors.
To celebrate we had a picnic at the botanical gardens with about ten friends.
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