Going to dentist

[NYTIMES]

Has anyone had this situation with there wife going to dentist and not wanting to get teeth cleaned or other work done by saying "not need"

My lao po has 3 cavities and her gums are no good, and I am worried she will have major problems later if she does not listen to dentist,,,,any suggestions how to deal with helping my lao po?

 

So far, we went to my dentist who speaks no chinese, so tomorrow i am taking her to a female dentist who is chinese and will see what happens.

 

Thanks

ben

[Urkidding]

Me thinks you have found a solution...

[credzba]

I have both my wife and daughter going to the dentist, but I picked a mandarin speaking one.

 

My wife often tells me "no need". She doesn't see preventative medicine as a worthwhile investment.

 

Fortunately (or not) she had cavities, and needs a tooth crowned. The crown is not an immediate need, but when we got the estimates back I could show her the cost progression.

 

x-ray, and 6 month checkup - free (after insurance)

cavities - $45 a piece (after insurance)

crown - $400 after insurance.

 

I explained how not taking care of her teeth on the cheap things cost our family money on the bigger expenses.

 

now "brush your teeth" is a common phrase after meals or snacks

[NYTIMES]

Good point about breaking the $'s down, I wish that she would trust our ways here for preventive medicine, in time she will I firmly believe and by saying" no need " is not good medicine.. I hope tomorrow she will

feel that it was the right thing to do by taking care of this now and not waiting til its too late.

Will keep you posted.

 

Thanks,

Ben

[Urkidding]

My wife had a lot of teeth problems too after coming here from China. It wasn¡¯t because of poor hygiene but most becuase of poor preventive maintenance in China.

 

After you go see the dentist buy a water pik or Roto brush type toothbrush and let them use it.

 

You will be surprised how much different they treat their own teeth after you show them how.

[NYTIMES]

Will do and thank you for your help.

 

Ben

[jim_julian]

A few thoughts ...

 

- I went with her the first couple of times, actually went into the room and stayed for the whole procedure

 

- I prebriefed her on the details of what would happen

 

- Remember, dental procedures are sometimes done without pain killers in China so she may be expecting a painful experience, which is not what happens in America

 

- Teach her to floss, have the hygienist teach her again, have people in white coats tell her this is important. Tell her that bleeding is normal when you begin to floss; show her how you don't bleed when you floss because you practice such exemplary dental hygiene

 

- We use SoniCare brushes, they work very well for us. Our practice is: manual brushing with a good toothpaste, floss, then SoniCare with no toothpaste, then prolonged swish with mouthwash ... it works wonders.

[NYTIMES]

I have to sit down and discuss with lao po and teach her to use electric toothbrush. But for now the important thing is to take care of her 3 cavities, and her gums with the Periodontist tomorrow and hope this new dentist will reaffirm in Chinese what my dentist already told her in English the importance of taking care of her health.

 

Thanks for all your support!

 

Ben

[NYTIMES]

btw tomorrow we are seeing regular dentist in Flushing, then see what the next step is.

[dnoblett]

Same here, my wife had no problems going to the dentist, had to have gum disease taken care of.

 

She had a problem when younger, some sort of fever that a doctor used some type of medicine that damaged the enamel on her teeth, she had several teeth replaced in China because of this. She says this is common with persons her age.

Edited September 10, 2008 by dnoblett (see edit history)

[SheLikesME?]

Oh boy. It is like pulling teeth

 

I agree with Jim about attending with her, as you drag her complaining into the office . I help in the translation back and forth. She has it in her head to just let them rot out and then get implants. Her gums are bad, a few little cavities, one patch job on a chipped front tooth, and then a straitening job. But she says the large gaps will still show. But that is just when she rolls her lips to look in the mirror. Normally one does not see all the way to the gums with her when she talks or smiles.

 

We went to an old Doc in Ft Worth who said she needed a deep cleaning. She has brushed better and uses a chemical mouthwash the doc gave us to fight the germs in her gums.

 

6 months later I got her into a dentist in N Lil Rock and tipped off the hygienist to do the deep cleaning this visit. She did with a sonic cleaner and boy what a difference. Wife said her teeth have never been so white. Now I did tell her that her teeth will hurt the next day. She believed me the next day, but was so happy with the clean job. She had just started drinking coffee so she stopped to help eleminate the smell and the stains.

 

I got Lil-Ones teeth all fixed and the child now has no pain and no more colds, runny nose, constant cough and sore throat, or headaches. That is how bad her baby teeth were. Horrible cavities. So wife has seen the difference in daughter.

 

I have to get her eyes checked and new glasses, now that the car is out of the way, and then I think I can get her into a Periodontist for surgery on one side of her mouth, then the other.

 

Her biggest problem, as is mine, is the fear of pain, and the dang cost issue .

Edited September 10, 2008 by SheLikesME? (see edit history)

[IllinoisDave]

Yep. Christine had major problems too. Mostly because of poor preventative habits before getting here. She's had one tooth filled,one pulled, another to be pulled and deep cleanings wedged in between.

 

She's been a real trooper though. I chose my dentist specifically because I'm a wimp and she uses gas. Christine will have none of that. "Make me act silly? No use. Too expensive." Not even for the extractions. Novacaine is all she'll use.

 

I'm with Jim on the SoniCare brush. Really works wonders.

 

I can't stress enough how important it is for everyone to get their wife/husband/fiancee/fiance to the dentist as quickly as possible once their here to get checked out and started on a good dental-hygienic program if needed.

[NYTIMES]

When we first arrived here last August i did take my lao po to my dentist and she needed root canal which she was fine with, but she refuses to get her teeth cleaned. Today the reality hit when the dentist told me that her gums are no good and that she has 3 cavities. So tomorrow we go to a Chinese woman dentist. Hopefully all will be taken care of for my beautiful lao po. I might ask the dentist to please clean her teeth as well, but i need to feel it out when we get there.

[IllinoisDave]

When we first arrived here last August i did take my lao po to my dentist and she needed root canal which she was fine with, but she refuses to get her teeth cleaned. Today the reality hit when the dentist told me that her gums are no good and that she has 3 cavities. So tomorrow we go to a Chinese woman dentist. Hopefully all will be taken care of for my beautiful lao po. I might ask the dentist to please clean her teeth as well, but i need to feel it out when we get there.

Yeah, bad gums can lead to bigger problems down the road. Hopefully the female dentist can convince her that something needs to be done.

Best of luck.

[NYTIMES]

thanks:)