Last Friday evening, after spending a wonderful but long day in Rabat with my friend LW, I decided to relax on the couch while watching TV, eating some popcorn, and drinking a beer. After biting into a particularly crunchy piece of popcorn, I noticed that one of my molar teeth felt a little funny. I touched it with my tongue, and I went cold. A chunk of my tooth was missing.
As far as I was concerned, one of my biggest fears had come true. I had gotten some crazy idea in my head about Moroccan dentistry that it consisted only of getting teeth pulled (without anesthesia) at the souk by people who may or may not be dentists (yes, you can get dental work done at the souk). I have been experiencing a little bit of "Morocco fatigue," so the idea of having to find a competent and hygienic dentist, figuring out how to make an appointment, figuring out how insurance works, getting to the dentist, and communicating with the dentist was exhausting. In addition, never before had I broken off a chunk of a tooth, and I wasn't sure how much pain I could potentially be in, nor did I know what might be required to fix it.
Luckily, there is an American trained, English speaking dentist in Fez who is used to working with people from the University. And luckily, I have a generous friend here (LW) who was willing to take me to the dentist. The office even had a receptionist who spoke English. Communicating my problem wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it might be.
However, this was the most painful dental work I can remember having. I was warned that this dentist is "rough." I think she's used to people telling her that what she's doing hurts, so she didn't believe me when I said that the anesthesia she injected did not extend to the tooth she was working on. Tooth nerve pain – ouch. She filled the heck out of the tooth and warned me that it would be sensitive for several days. I'm still a little nervous because if the sensitivity doesn't go away, I may need to have a root canal. If that happens, she had better do a more thorough job with the anesthesia.
It cost me 500 dirhams to have this work done. That's a little over $60, which is affordable even if the insurance company doesn't reimburse me for 80% of the cost. That seems so absurdly cheap to me as an American, and yet it is a cost that is completely out of range for many Moroccans. If I were an average Moroccan, I would probably just have to live with what was left of my tooth, and if it got bad enough –if the whole tooth rotted out –I would go to the souk and get it pulled out. There would be no other option.
Ouch! My teeth literally hurt to hear this. I would not be surprised that there would be a dentist trained in the USA or Europe in an area where there's a sizable expat community. The trick is to locate him/her!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that the situation has been taken care of under sanitary conditions. I hope there will be no future need for a root canal.
Citrine: Now that the anesthesia has completely worn off, the tooth REALLY hurts. The dentist gave me the impression it would only be sensitive to hot and cold, but I assume the pain is to be expected given the situation and that I'll just have to wait it out. It's good that I have packing, moving, and unpacking to distract me a little.
ReplyDeleteOh, man! You don't need this. Here's a grandma remedy - try to keep a clove in place near the affected tooth.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know about the move, until I read your previous post. I sort of expected you guys to move sometime in the near future, but I didn't realize it was going to be so soon. Question #1: What laundry facilities are within reach?
Question #2: Is there a shed nearby to store some cats?