Dentistry.
That's what I should have done!
Everybody goes to the dentist at least once in their lifetime even if its only to have all their teeth pulled out.
And really....lets be honest...its a bit like going to the car mechanic...you sort of know that there is some degree of a problem but you actually have no idea how serious it really is...and a checkup appointment for your teeth or your car really fall into that "do I really need to do this or can I scrape by or am I being ripped off " category....and you just nod and smile and hope the credit card has just that extra little teeny weeny bit of elasticity in it.
(I drive a 1997 Toyota Rav that I got for £1500 6 years ago...it has never had a service...I chuck in a pint of oil twice a year...and it just goes and goes.
Admittedly the drivers door doesn't unlock and the radio doesn't work...but I just get in through the passenger side and hum sea shanties to myself)
So off to the dentist today...unexpectedly,owing to a cracked tooth.
Something broke last week and I put it off...
...and then something else broke on Saturday at work and I decided with Part One of the prescribers exam tomorrow and Part Two in 2 weeks time ,that I really really needed to get it sorted out so as to have less to worry about.
Also...I know that my intake of chocolate is going to rapidly increase over the next few days...
Now the provision of dental services in the UK is complex and frankly weird...
...read about it here.
Children and some people get free care....some adults get subsidised care for some procedures...some dentists offer a mix of NHS and private care to the same patient,with cosmetic care generally being charged at private rates.
Naturally I do not qualify for any free care.
And naturally,since there is a shortage of dentists in the UK,I have not been able to register with a dentist who charges NHS rates.
More oddly though,despite living in a major town,the nearest dentist I could register with when I first moved to the UK....and as a private patient...is in a town some 31 miles away.
Its one of those chocolate box towns that look so nice when you drive down winding streets in summer as a tourist but which drive you to distraction in winter...in a school holiday...and with the town awash with old age pensioners driving at about 5mph because they had a drink at Christmas.
Walking from the car park to the dentist I noticed the two shops across the road...a beauty parlour next door to a funeral parlour.
I wonder if they share cosmetics?
Or formaldehyde...its cheaper than botox...?
Double click on the photo to enlarge it
Back to the textbooks now!
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