Dental visit

My son was given a medal for having a perfect set of teeth...6 months ago.
But...it is a history now. Sob, sob...

Why?

Because we were given the latest dental check-up result this week, yup...Sya has got caries, also known as tooth decay. Hubby and I were quite disappointed. Especially hubby, because he had been taking good care of Sya's teeth until recently when he started to refuse us from helping him finish up his teeth brushing every night.

(Sya's aunties in Malaysia please take note...we will hand over this case to you when we go back!) *wink*

Sya's medal...isn't it cute?

Anyway, we were advised by the dentist in Sya's nursery to visit a dental clinic for a proper treatment. Our first ever dental visit in Japan. Obviously I couldn't just pop in at my University Hospital for a caries treatment. It's a tertiary center and they only accept severe cases. So I googled for names of dental clinics in Tokushima city. Note...Tokushima is just a small city and believe it or not, more than 180 names had surfaced!! Hahaha...no wonder dental clinics in Tokushima can go bankrupt! We have the highest doctor-to-patient ratio. Be it dentist or medical doctor. How to choose from 180 clinics? We gave up! We decided to visit a dental clinic nearby, which was just 2-min walk from our home. Yeah...ain't that convenient?

We were greeted by a friendly nurse as we went in. I informed her of my purpose. She looked at me and said, 'I am sorry, but did you make any reservation?'. Oh oh...nope. She looked at me apologetically and said, 'I am sorry but we are full for the day. But you can squeeze in at around 5pm. Is that alright?', at the same time showing us the very packed appointment book. I had no choice but to agree since I had taken one day leave that day. Other days were impossible.

So we went back at 5pm sharp, didn't want to miss it this time.

Let's talk about the clinic building. It was new with a taste of modern design. You would be more surprise when you go in...the interior looked pretty much like a hotel! And then the variety of toys. There was a whole set of Thomas trackmaster lying there! Not to mention other expensive toys too. Sya headed straight to the toys when we went in. Hahaha...
I visited the lady's room later too, it was gorgeous!

Sya was so excited! And I thought kids usually are terrified of dentists!

All sorts of toys for kids and many different magazines for adults

Sya played with Thomas trackmaster while waiting to be called

We were attended not long after that. We were directed into a treatment room for kids. Sya was a little worried at first but not for too long because he was greeted by these familiar friendly faces!

Expensive toy model house and friendly decoration to calm the kids anxiety...

Still steady...giving a peace sign

While waiting for treatment...a little nervous

We were first attended by a dental assistant because the dentist seemed to be very busy. She carefully checked Sya's teeth, removing the debris and food stuck between the teeth. She then wrote something in a note for the record. Lastly, she brushed Sya's teeth thoroughly before she left and called the dentist.

Sya was good through the whole procedure...

Sya was then asked to gargle, which he found the automatic refilled water interesting.

Finally, the dentist was here! Quite a handsome doctor too! *wink*

The dentist came in and apologized for not attending to us earlier. He checked the note written by the assistant and then checked Sya's teeth to confirm. He agreed that Sya had two teeth with caries but they were very mild. He advised to fill one tooth today, and to come another day to fill in the other. He then began his treatment. The dentist carefully used a forcep to remove the decay. Then, a relatively young assistant was called to do the filling.

Beautiful young assistant came in for filling

After the procedure, the doctor came in and checked the work of his assistant. Everything went quite smoothly he said. The doctor excused himself again, then came in with a trolley of toys! He praised Sya for being a good boy and in return, Sya got to choose a toy to take home! Wah...what else, Sya was ecstatic!

Finally, we were given a piece of report as below. The red scatch indicated the sites where brushing was found not complete. We were advised to give extra care to these parts. Do notice that the computer had also analyzed the percentage of teeth that was not properly brushed, which was 18.8%!! Amazing! Impressive! Two thumbs up for the details and service!

Oh, I had forgotten to mention earlier that we had to change into slippers when we went in the clinic. The slippers were stored in a cabinet below. What I found impressive was that the slippers were guaranteed to be germ free (99.99%) because they were given UV light treatment! Ahaha...

Sya was reluctant to leave because he hadn't have enough playing

It was already dark when we headed home

We were all very impressed with the service there. I talked to my colleague about it the next day. It seems that the dentists in Tokushima are competitive. They must make sure that the service is tip top. Otherwise, they won't be able to survive long in the market.

Whatever it is, the impact is positive on the patients. Why not? I have a son who can't wait to visit his dentist next week. He's not afraid of dentists and that's a good sign!