high tech dentistry

I went to the dentist today for a routine cleaning. My dentist had moved to a newer and larger office.

The first thing I noticed was that the patient chairs were much nicer. Doctor Jane explained they were also massage chairs, and asked me if I wanted to try, but I was in a hurry and passed.

During the cleaning (which is mostly done with some fancy high pressure water device instead of with manual scraping, which is one of the reasons I like my dentist), she noticed my lips were chapped and pulled out a tube of Vaseline (yay!).

After the cleaning, she did my dental x-rays with a new fancy digital x-ray machine. Instead of having to bite those little cards which have sharp edges and hurt your mouth, I bit on a round-ish digital sensor thing. Afterwards, the x-rays came up instantly on the computer, where Doctor Jane was able to zoom in and show me where my old fillings were going bad (boo!).

Later on, when I was setting up my followup appointment, the receptionist gave me a nifty printout detailing the services that I would be receiving, as well as the cost breakdown (the insured portion vs. the part that I would be expected to pay). Very cool.