By Alan Graham
A visit to the dentist strikes fear into my heart. The very thought of the needle alone makes me wince. I will try to get out of it altogether if possible. A few months ago, I was enjoying a piece of hard candy when my front tooth, which had been capped 40-something years earlier by Dr. Vetter, flew out of my mouth. I picked it up and saw that it had snapped off part of the remaining root and was badly decayed as well. I had a very important business meeting to attend in an hour. So I had to find a dentist within close proximity without delay.
I chose a local and rather expensive cosmetic dentist. She fitted me in between another appointment. Within a few minutes, I was walking out the door tooth firmly cemented in place. I would be able to attend the meeting and my broken tooth would not be a distraction. This was not to be. The moment I opened my mouth to speak, my tooth almost fell out again. I caught it, and fortunately, no one saw my embarrassed and toothless smile.
The dentist visit cost me $150 and I looked like I had never ever paid a visit to a dentist office in my life. I called their office and gave them the what for. I rushed back where they applied the very same inept procedure. The moment I stepped out the door, the same tooth fell out again. They apologized for their poor work once again. The next morning, I received a refund check with a note that read:
Dear Sir:
We are sending a refund check to you for your last visit to our offices. We do not feel that we can help you any further.
Thank you,
Susan Phelps, DDS
I certainly concur with their assessment of not being able to help me any further. I would even go one better, they offered inferior work at an exorbitant rate and that they never helped me at all in the first place.
I called my regular dentist who instructed me to come into the office immediately. I did so carrying with me the rotten root.
I call her “Angel de los Dientes” (“Angel of the Teeth”) because she is extremely great at her work. She is so gentle that I do not even feel that long, scary-looking syringe she inserts to numb my teeth with lydocaine. The Angel works so fast and with such precision that it is a pleasure to watch her operate.
Believe me, you are very lucky if you can find a dentist so highly qualified and so utterly dedicated to her craft. I am indeed a very lucky man and so is anyone else who discovers her.
There are other dentists as highly qualified as my Angel de los Dientes. You can find them all at a small practice called Easy Dental. Their office is located at 245 25th Street, San Diego. Their telephone number is (619) 236-9831. Call them to schedule an appointment, and as I have said, if you are very, very lucky, you may be able meet the Angel de los Dientes there. By the by, if you tell them that the folks at the Coronado Clarion newspaper have sent you, you will receive a special discount on top of their already affordable prices.
