Saturday, July 12, 2008

Our Dentist

Today, Jason and I had our 6 month dental appointment. Jason was not excited about it but I don't mind going to our dentist. I think we have one of the best dentist in the world. His name is Boyd Nordmark DDS. He is probably in his late 70's to early 80's but very much in tuned with new technology. He colors his hair blond and is fond of jazz. The clinic also serves as their residence. It is an older house built probably sometime in 1920's and located in not-so-nice neighborhood in Des Moines. The neighborhood which was established probably in the early 20th century is called Highland Park. I like the houses there as I have fondness for houses built in the 1920's and 1930's. I think the woodwork in those houses are spectacular and you cannot see it anymore in the current era of cookie-cutter subdivisions. However, in the last couple of decades, older residents of that neigborhood started dying or moving out and people who do not maintain their houses and yards moved in and this cause the value of houses to drop, therefore people with questionable characters were able to move in too.

Aside from his wife Shirley who is the office manager, he is the sole dentist in the clinic. There is no hygienist at all. We've known him for 4 years now since we moved back in Iowa. Our managed care insurance listed him as the only provider in our area. When I learned where he was located I was skeptical because when we were living in Dallas metro, TX , we went to this dentist who was on the list given by our insurance and it was like an assembly line as they scheduled patients very closely. I did not have much good expectation about Boyd. Driving through an alley just to get to his place did not really help my apprehension. Before getting out of the car in that very first visit, I told Jason, "You have to go first and if you think it is unsanitary there just turn around and go back to the car. I don't want to get any blood-borne diseases." To make long story short, I was impressed by his cleanliness and thoroughness That was the very best teeth cleaning I have had. I am stuck with him. He did several procedures for me already in the past 4 years -- had my unaligned molar pulled and re-done 4 of my fillings. He taught me the proper way to floss and encouraged me to be a dentist. Okay, he is not that perfect. I expect my gums to hurt for couple of days after my prophylactic cleaning and he makes Jason gag but with his care my mouth is in its healthiest state ever. Believe me, I have seen many dentists in my 34 years of life as I wore braces when I was younger. Jason, on the other hand, has perfect teeth with no cavities nor misalignment. He attributed it from drinking milk and fluoride in water. He did not go to the dentist regularly until we got married when I prodded him to do so. . The dentist said that he probably flosses and brushes his teeth regularly. The truth is he does not floss at all. When, I told Boyd that, he cannot believe it!

Anyway, now, we do not have any dental insurance but we decided to stay with Boyd. We could have moved to any dentist in town but I could not bear the thought of not having him as a dentist. We made another 6 month appointment which will be in January and I just wish and pray that Boyd will be there for several years and be our dental angel.

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