there's gold in them thar teeth
Well, I guess it's not gold any more... resin or something. Whatever it is, they use UV light that comes out of a little gun to make it dry, which necessitates the patient's wearing a set of orange-tinted rock-star shades not unlike the pair Bono one affected. Perhaps he still does, I don't know. He was in Somerville yesterday, we hear, but I didn't have time to stop by and see him. In any case, what I mean is that I got some fillings this afternoon, fillings for cavities that have been developing for at least three years since they were first discovered way back when I worked in Newton (the last time I had dental insurance)—if not longer, of course!
It was all very impressive and even fascinating—the part that didn't hurt, that is, and even that was pretty cool. (The pain didn't last long and they were suitably apologetic). I don't mind dentists at all, as long as they're doing stuff to my mouth and not preaching about dental hygiene and whatever. Two cleanings a year?! You know that's just to give them a reliable income stream, right? And I wouldn't even complain about that if it weren't for the off-putting quackery that attends some of their other advertised services, such as orthodontia and teeth-whitening. That's where the money is, and when socialized medicine comes in both those useless, built-on-artificially-induced-social-phobias procedures will not be picked up by the government tab. And good riddance! It'll be just like England, and we'll all have good English teeth.