OznAsia

When I was a kid if I needed dental treatment my mother took me to the dental hospital at South Brisbane. Some of my friends went to private dentists. But my family could not afford that. At the hospital you did not get to choose your dentist. Some were good with kids. Some should have been banned from working with kids. I remember when water drills came in. They were so much easier to handle than the old mechanical ones we used to be subjected to. I also remember one cranky old dentist threatening that he would use the mechanical drill if I couldn't keep my mouth open wider. As a kid all of my fillings were done without an injection.

At the age of 18 I went to live in Sydney. When I needed dental treatment I discovered Dr C. He was wonderful. I know it is not common to hear people say they think their dentist is wonderful but compared to what I grew up with I found him to be a kind and gentle man. He would take time to explain what was needed and give me choices about how that was done. He seemed to be impressed that I didn't need an injection for a normal filling. I remember one time he got his nurse (he always had cute nurses) to take a look at how much drilling he'd done without an injection. I had tried injections and I decided I preferred the short-term pain of the drill that stopped as soon as he stopped drilling to the longer-term discomfort and numbness created by the injection.

When I moved away from Sydney I tried other dentists. None of them came up to Dr C. One refused to accept my decision to not have an injection and immediately injected me without waiting for me to disagree. I never returned to him. Nor did I return to others I tried for one reason or another. When I was living in Brisbane I had to go to an annual conference in the Sydney area. I would usually arrange to go a week early so I could visit Dr C for a check up and any work needed. Eventually he said I didn't need to keep coming as at the stage I had reached my teeth should stay good for some time.

When I decided to retire and move to Asia over six years ago, I had one or two little problems with my teeth. I decided to visit Dr C and get them fixed before I did. I didn't know if he'd still be practising but he was. By this time he was about 70 years old. I expressed surprise that he was still practising. He said he had fewer patients these days and it suited him. He'd slowed down rather than retiring. 'And what would I do if I retired?' he asked. I could think of a thousand things but obviously he is happy with dentistry.

He refilled one tooth for me and recommended I get a crown on another. I had a choice of a post and crown or just a crown. He said the post should be better but there were no guarantees. As it turned out I did not have time for the post before my flight to Asia so I settled for the crown.

It didn't last. It fell victim to some sticky rice in Thailand. I didn't do anything about it at the time. I was still able to chew and I found I had less trouble with food becoming trapped. Some time later, when I was living in Cambodia a filling came out. This one was causing some problems so I decided to have it fixed. You can read the story here.

I got the same dentist to replace the missing crown too. I was wary at the time about getting such work done in Cambodia but that was September '06 and I'm happy to say that it is still there and in that time it has been responsible for assisting in the chewing of many kilos of sticky rice.

Having had such success in Cambodia I was not concerned about finding a good dentist in Mahasarakham. The dentist I was referred to was recommended by several people. His practice is clean and appears to be professional. I assume you've already read my previous two posts. Now I'll carry on from where I left off.

Since the first root-canal treatment the tooth stopped hurting and has given me very little trouble. Last Sunday I made my final visit to the lady dentist in Khon Kaen. (Lots of Khon Kaen pics now on my flickr page.) She gave me the final treatment which lasted about an hour and was done without an injection. But I still had to return to my dentist in Mahasarakham to get the crown added. I got someone to ring and make an appointment for me. It can be a little frustrating communicating via someone else who may not understand fully what you want. I usually make an appointment for 6 pm and don't often wait too long. She made the appointment for 5 pm. I made it there by 5.20 knowing that there was no way I'd go in straight off at 5. I waited until 6.40 before I finally got into the dentist chair. I thought they'd forgotten me. Before I left to head into town I noticed that if I bit down on the problem tooth there was a slight twinge there. I tested this a few times on my way to the dentist and sometimes it twinged and sometimes it didn't. I mentioned this to him when I got into the chair. He just said 'Hmmm.' After he removed the temporary crown he stuck his drill into my mouth. I guess he was polishing the tooth but whatever he was doing it was quite painful. 'Relax. Relax.' he said. 'I can't,' I answered. 'It's hurting.' He said it shouldn't be hurting as there was no nerve left in the tooth. I understood that but I know pain when I feel it. And it was painful. So, he put another temporary crown on it and told me to come back in two weeks. I'm not impressed. I wanted to be over it. I've had enough of this. I want to be able to eat whatever I feel like instead of having to eat omelettes and curries all the time. I want to eat sticky rice again. But it seems I have to wait another two weeks—at least. It has been sore to bite on since then but today, not quite so bad. Let's hope it gets better this time.

Labels: Asia, dentist, health, Mahasarakham, pain, Phnom Penh, thailand, tolerance

I went back to Khon Kaen on the weekend for my second root canal treatment. Since the first treatment my mouth has felt much better with no pain. I stayed overnight as before and took quite a few photos (coming to my flickr page--but give me time to process them) at the market in the morning before I went for my dental appointment. Once again I have been pain free but despite eating only foods that are relatively easy to chew this temporary crown is starting to break away. I only hope it lasts until I get back for what I hope is my last treatment next Sunday.

Labels: Asia, health, thailand

A student commented the other evening that there was a case of H1N1 flu at the demonstration high school on campus and asked if I recommended they should wear masks to protect themselves. Dr John has no particular expertise in this area however I had read the advice on the WHO website because I incorporated it in a newsletter article I wrote. It said that there was no evidence that masks reduced infections. It then went on to give advice on how to use masks. I guess because, despite what they advise, there will still be people who use them. I told the student what WHO said and he said that the Thai Health Department advised wearing a mask.

If you have a cold or the flu and you wear a mask WHO advises that when you cough or sneeze, you should replace the mask. If it's disposable, get a new one. If it's washable, put it in the washing. The point seemed to be that we shouldn't wear the same mask all day long. Think about it. If you're coughing and sneezing into that mask over and over it will soon be full of germs. WHO also advised keeping hands away from your mouth and regular washing of hands.

We've just had another of our five-day weekends here in Thailand. If you live in a tourist area that means it gets busy. If you live somewhere like Mahasarakham, that means it virtually dies. The place you usually eat may no longer be open. I went to a different place for lunch on Saturday. The woman who served me was wearing a mask. After she served me she started coughing and automatically put her hand to her mouth. A series of thoughts entered my head: 'How long's she been wearing that mask? Does she have flu? Did she cough before she handled my plate? Did she wash her hands? Did she help to prepare my food? If she's not the cook, does the cook have the flu?'

Living in Asia, I rarely cook my own food but the danger of eating out is that you simply do not know the hygiene standards of the person preparing your food. Will her mask protect me from her flu? Not if she's been wearing it all day. In this case it will aid in the transmission of the germs.

Labels: health, holiday, thailand

Further to my blog last year on the cost of mangosteen juice in Western countries; back in Thailand I discover that there are now mangosteen juice blends on the market here.

Unlike some available in Western countries they tell you just how much mangosteen there is in the container. I bought the Tipco 3 x 200 ml pack from the supermarket for 50 baht, that's pretty close to A$2 at the current exchange rate. It contains 30% mangosteen, 25% orange, 20% grape, 10% beetroot, and 5% each of passionfruit, banana and lychee juices. The Queen Berry juice cost about the same price in a restaurant. It is 275 ml and contains 20% mangosteen, 10% blueberry, 15% blackberry, 25% cranberry, 25% mulberry, 1% honey and 4% fructose.

How does that compare with what you're buying?

Labels: Asia, health, mangosteen, thailand

One of the things I really like about India is that they've banned smoking in public places. One of the things I dislike about smokers in India is that they refuse to accept that a restaurant is a public place.

Labels: Asia, health, India

In my neighbourhood in Bangkok I noticed this sign on the awning of a doctor's surgery. I thought it was just a normal doctor's surgery but now that I can read a little Thai, I'm reading signs that I had previously walked past and phonetically this says 'Pee Pee Clinic'. Was this a urologist, I wondered??? I took this shot and back at home I entered the second line into my online Thai translator and it says 'Treating illness, allergy and common diseases'. So, it apparently is a general practice. I also checked the word 'pee' and it means 'fat' which doesn't quite fit either. Maybe one of my Thai friends can enlighten me.

Labels: Asia, communication, health, learning Thai, thailand

On one of my visits to Australia I stopped off in Kyabram on the Murray River to visit my niece. She took me to the local market—very quiet compared to the ones here in Asia. Someone was selling mangosteen juice and from memory I think they were asking about $A70 a bottle.

Perhaps you are asking: what's a mangosteen and why are they so special?

The picture shows fresh mangosteens that I bought here in Bangkok recently for about 50 cents Australian per kilo. Doesn't that seem a bit different from the price being charged in Kyabram?

The vendor at Kyabram told that mangosteens have amazing antioxidant qualities and said research suggests they can cure many illnesses. I usually find claims like these are a little extravagant. You can find a balanced report on the goodness of mangosteens here. If you do a search for 'mangosteen juice' you'll find many other pages promoting the healing qualities of this fruit. Make up your own mind.

Whatever you decide about the value of mangosteen I have to ask how the price can be justified. The juice being sold in Kyabram included (from memory) raspberry juice. The ones I found being promoted online include other juices. They usually sell for a little less than the Kyabram vendor was asking—say $US35 for the most popular brand but this brand includes many other ingredients in the bottle, such as: apple juice, pear juice, grape juice, pear purée, blueberry juice, raspberry juice, strawberry juice, cranberry juice, cherry juice, citric acid, natural flavor, pectin, xanthan gum, sodium benzoate. I'm sure most of these are healthy too but I have to ask, just what proportion of the drink is actually mangosteen juice? Most of those other juices can be bought for a much lower price. And considering the price I'm paying for mangosteens here in Thailand the word that comes into my mind to describe these products is 'ripoff'.

Labels: Asia, Australia, fruit, health, mangosteen, ripoff, thailand