Tuesday Evening Blues

It shouldn't really be of any concern. I mean what day of the week we have. Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday etc. It's all the same. They are days spent in the desert, sometimes meeting people - new people or people we know. Some just give us a wave, others stop by for a chat and yet others show up for coffee at the adventure rig.

But some days stand out, as they are are getting filled with off-routine. Like f.ex. today. It's Tuesday and I became aware of it as I woke up at 3:30am and had a toothache.  Damn.... what's next?

Now, I have had a feeling that something could be off with my tooth health. And my hunch had made me book an appointment in Los Algodones,MX for Wednesday. But now I got a toothache of sorts and I couldn't sleep anymore and it was only Tuesday!

So, as quietly as possible (the floor is squeaking) I tiptoe into the bathroom, shut the door, switch on the ceiling light and reach for my 800mg Ibuprofen, which are remnants from a 2-years ago visit to the Mexican dentist and a brutal extraction lasting 1.5hrs that time. (another molar)

But the pills are sooo big, I need water and lots of it. drinking glasses are in the kitchen - or wait, I could use my coffee cup still on the counter. I need a light there too. Unfortunately in the dark I rake the trailer keys from the counter while fumbling after the light switch. With an ugly too loud noise they hit the floor. Hm...I hope Bea didn't hear that.

After I have the pill down my throat I drink most of the water from the coffee mug. That will get me making frequent visits to the bathroom for the rest of the night. Yup!

Back under the covers, I decide to change my dental appointment. I got to get rid of this problem. Hate to be up during the night nursing some toothache.

I am amazed when I wake up and see daylight filtering through the blinds. The dental office opens at 8:30am Mountain time which is 7:30am Pacific. I gotta get up and ready for a phone call.

I am lucky and get an appointment for 11am Mountain Time. (they call it Arizona Time there)

I arrive 15 minutes early and start wandering along busy crappy looking streets in Algodones. The town never invests into any upgrades of the outer appearance. It has been looking exactly the same over the last 17 years, which was the first time we went there.

Making my way to the side street where the office of DENTAL SOLUTIONS is located, I am constantly being talked to and showered with offers for the cheapest pharmacies, the best dentists and the greatest selection of eyeglasses. And I have to watch out so I don't stumble over older women holding out little containers hoping that some coins (or $$-bills) will drop into hit. It's Mexico and it makes me a bit sad, course it shouldn't be like this, as it shouldn't be in the US or Canada either. Yet, I am afraid it will not go away, but rather increase.

Inside the office, I am beckoned into the narrow hallway serving as a waiting area. I find a seat in a comfy looking white couch. After 45 minutes it's my turn. Xrays follow and the doc is dumbfounded as the corpus-delicti-tooth already has a root canal, meaning there is NO NERV  to be inflamed. Where does the pain come from?

They focus on the crown of the molar, which is subject to pressure from the bridge which was installed on the lower gum a year ago. We decide the crown has to go and be replaced with a new and lower one. So I am moved to another room for getting an imprint. From previous visits I am used to getting some soft pliable material shoved into my mouth followed with the command "BITE". Then the softball in my mouth used to harden and serv as a form for an imprint and the final crown/bridge. 

Not so today!

Technology has just done another major step to make these dental visits resemble a vacation from home. The beautiful Mexican girl I have by my side has now placed me in a chair beside of a huge computerscreen. She appears to handle a sort of very thick electronic stick which she starts moving around and around in my mouth. To my endless surprise I see my entire tooth assembly appear on the big screen. What in the world is this? I ask. "I scan your teeth. It's a scanner"!

And that dear readers, marks the end of my visit to the dentist office today. The tooth scan (call it the toothfairy) is now giving those dentists an exact idea of how to form the crown which will fit perfectly tomorrow at noon. Other than in Canada, where people have to wait for such luxuries for a week and longer, these Mexican experts have the replacement ready the next morning. I call that expert service delivered at a much lower price than in the US or Canada. Next please!