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I have been to the dentist, for the first time since I moved to Massachusetts: serious procrastination.
A couple of weeks ago I had a toothache, and thought there was a cavity there, which was enough to motivate me to look for a dentist. This was an annoying process, for reasons including how the dental insurance works, and the COVID pandemic making "I'll just take the bus" less of an obvious answer.
After lots of phone calls and stress, I found a dentist who takes my insurance; is taking new patients; and is reasonably reachable by bus. I called Friday. and got a call back of "we have a cancellation tomorrow morning."
I said yes. After lots of X-rays, it turns out I don't have a cavity, but do have some amount of gum disease. So in addition to the regular cleaning, they're talking to the insurance about authorization for the "deep cleaning" that this requires.
I only saw the hygienist yesterday; the dentist was in surgery. He is going to look at the X-rays and decide whether I need to go back on Tuesday and see him. In normal times, that wouldn't be a question: it's an easy bus trip, and I'm not doing anything else that day. But now I think about "Is this trip necessary?"
A couple of weeks ago I had a toothache, and thought there was a cavity there, which was enough to motivate me to look for a dentist. This was an annoying process, for reasons including how the dental insurance works, and the COVID pandemic making "I'll just take the bus" less of an obvious answer.
After lots of phone calls and stress, I found a dentist who takes my insurance; is taking new patients; and is reasonably reachable by bus. I called Friday. and got a call back of "we have a cancellation tomorrow morning."
I said yes. After lots of X-rays, it turns out I don't have a cavity, but do have some amount of gum disease. So in addition to the regular cleaning, they're talking to the insurance about authorization for the "deep cleaning" that this requires.
I only saw the hygienist yesterday; the dentist was in surgery. He is going to look at the X-rays and decide whether I need to go back on Tuesday and see him. In normal times, that wouldn't be a question: it's an easy bus trip, and I'm not doing anything else that day. But now I think about "Is this trip necessary?"