Dentist Visit

Before we moved from America to Indonesia, I started to grind my teeth at night. I hear this is your body's reaction to stress, which we were (and are) experiencing a lot of. My local dentist suggested I wear a night guard to help protect my teeth and jaw from the night time stress relief. I've used that night guard every night for about 7 years or so. Recently the back teeth on both side cracked from the intense grinding that is happening every night. My teeth weren't touching, so I didn't think it was that big of a deal. 

Not too long later I noticed that things felt off on one of my molars. My tongue would get caught on something on top of the tooth. I called the Colombian dentist for help.

The patient reclined in a lawn chair. I told him my story, he examined my mouth, and agreed there was a problem. He said," Okay, before we get started we're going to give you the injections." I started to panic- I don't like needles (seriously, who does LIKE needles? No one. Well no one should.) My heart rate increases and it takes an incredible amount of strength not to run out of the room. The Doc could see I was uneasy and prayed before the procedure began. His Papuan assistant held my hand, patted my arm, and reassured me how good a patient I was. She was very calming, and helped me through the injections. 

The dentist was able to fit me for a new mouth guard, which he ordered from Jakarta. He also repaired the damage done to a filling. The grinding had busted one of my fillings. I'm so grateful for his skill and service to both the expat and Papuan communities.