生平第一次見牙醫

My first dental experience 

 

      I had a dental appointment today. This was the third time that I went to this dental office in the pandemic time. I wasn’t so stressed compared to the first time. Actually, I felt pretty relaxed like normal. During the waiting time, I looked around the office, even took a picture. Ten minutes passed and I was still waiting. My body sat  casually in the chair and my mind flew back to twenty years ago. 

       That was a beautiful day in spring 2001. I had been in  the United States for just six months. My husband made a dental appointment with his dentist for me . He said that we had dental insurance and I could clean my teeth twice a year. I was thirty-one years old, but I had never been to see a dentist. One reason was most Chinese didn’t know about professional teeth cleaning at that time. We thought washing teeth twice a day was enough to protect teeth. Now I know that China was not rich enough to build the needed dental care service in the 1980s and 1990s. Another reason was that I never had any problem with my teeth. 

       My husband drove me to the dental office. As I entered the office a very tall man with an oversized white medical  uniform welcomed us. He was the dentist. He was an enthusiastic person, always smiling. Later I really appreciated how enthusiastic he was as he worked with me. He introduced himself, but my English was poor and I could not remember his name. Let’s call him Dr. D. Actually I couldn't even understand what he was talking about at that moment. I turned to my husband, waiting for him to translate and then turned to Dr D with a smile. They talked for several minutes and finally he led me to the examination room and left my husband outside to wait.

       He let me lie down on the dental chair, then put a piece of blue paper on my chest. He said something I didn’t know and I opened my eyes wide. I saw his mouth open. Maybe he wanted me to open my mouth? I thought to myself, so I followed him. Then I heard his laughter. He started to check my teeth and gums. I heard him keep saying,  “Good.” I knew this word. Did he mean the condition of my teeth was good? Then I heard him talking about ChinaIt sounded like he traveled to China with his girlfriend. I could understand several words. Other words were not familiar, so I just guessed the meaning. I wanted to say something but there was stuff in my mouth. He put yellow glasses on my eyes and began to clean my teeth. All of sudden, the yellow glasses seemed like magic. They made everything look different after  as I wore it them. I lied there, looked at the shadowless light in front of me, and listened to a person talking to me about his trip. I felt sorry that I couldn’t return his conversation. It's  felt like I went into a wonderland. Eventually, I couldn’t hear a word,  I just knew someone was talking. Yes, Dr. D had been talking the whole time even though I didn’t say a single word. I could not say speak, because my mouth was occupied.,  and And because I didn’t know how to say my thoughts it in English.

       He lifted the chair and patted my shoulder. I woke up from the wonderland. Finally I could say, “Thank you.”. Those were my only words, , and plus smiling as I tried to express my gratitude.