Visit to a Dental Clinic

     One of many things that gives Westerners pause before deciding to move to a still-developing country like China is concern about finding good medical or dental care if it's needed.  We're spoiled.  If we have a problem, we want it fixed as fast as possible, with no pain and no screw-ups. And we're not sure we'll get this if we leave home.  
     This afternoon after school I went with Leah to her appointment at "U Dental", which was a 15-minute taxi ride away.  I'd gotten two recommendations for this clinic; the English-speaking staff was the main draw.  Afterwards both Leah and I were pleased.  Parts of the experience were somewhat different than what we're used to at home.   First of all, they're open until 8:30 weekday evenings, and they're open on weekends AND holidays until 5:30.  Same day appointments are usually not a problem.  How's that for client-friendliness?  When we walked into their sleek office on the 24th floor of a high-rise, the three young women in smart lilac shirts behind the reception counter all stood up immediately and greeted us. After we sat down, one of them not only brought each of us a cup of water, but came back twice to tell us our estimated wait time, since we'd arrived 15 minutes early.  I noted the warm lighting and colors--no cold, blue fluorescents and antiseptic-hued decor in this waiting room, reminding you of your dental anxiety.
     When the dental assistant arrived, she led us out of the waiting room up a short step and through a push button sliding door of frosted glass (I thought of Star Trek).  The dentist looked all of 15, but had an air of competence and reassurance, just what you want from a health professional.  Our dental office at home doesn't have touch screen controls like this one had, and I doubt it was as clean as this one.  We were done in 20 minutes and paid in cash, as we pay for pretty much everything else here.  They sent our money through their counterfeit checker--nothing personal--many businesses here do this, since there's been quite a bit of fake currency floating around their system.  I was pleased that the bill was just over 1/4 of what it would be at home.
     The one recommendation I have for the clinic is to tweak their staff's business cards.  Leah's dentist's card lists his name and title on the English side simply as "Daniel, Chief" and his email address begins with "snake"!
     Although we were fortunate to find this exceptional clinic, it's of course not the norm for China--yet.  Living here in this modern city, it's sometimes easy to forget that we are in a developing country.