Dientes Limpios

Thankfully, we´ve been super lucky so far on our travels not need any sort of medical care. We were long overdue for a good teeth cleaning though, so we decided to try our luck at a local dental clinic. We had seen one situated in a small town about 15 minutes from us, next to our favorite pizza place, so that seemed as good a sign as any to choose that clinic.

We walked in for our appointment and as usual, things are running on Tico time so we had plenty of time to strike up a conversation with the receptionist. She was a Nicaraguan who had moved to Costa Rica with the hope of making more money to send back to her children who were living with her mother. Not five minutes into the conversation, she was baring her soul to us. It was great to have a truly candid conversation with someone from such a different background, not only to learn about her life, but to get a different perspective on the project we are working on here. If she could bring her family down here to live with her, these are exactly the type of hard working families that we would like to be helping. She brought up some interesting questions and concerns though that can be used help us to improve before our next project.

The other patient then came out of the exam room, in one piece and looking happy enough, so we figured things couldn´t go too bad. The dentist was super nice and started the cleaning innocently enough. Next thing we know, he had placed a towel over our face and chest and proceeded to start sand-blasting our mouths with baking soda. If you have ever been out on the beach when a huge gust of wind picks up and you feel the sting of the sand against your legs, you can begin to imagine this, but then transfer that feeling to your tongue and lips instead. When he finished, despite the best intentions of the towel, our faces were covered in a thin-film of baking soda. Certainly an interesting experience, but short-lived enough and well-worth the sparkling clean teeth afterward.

Big smiles,
Team Wander