1st Dental Experience

On Monday morning I had my first experience with a Czech dentist...sort of. It was time for a cleaning and a check up. I heard that it takes a couple of months to get an appointment so I knew that I had to get a move on.

A Czech colleague recommended a dentist to Claudia. Since she didn't have any problems, I asked her to make me an appointment during her last visit, a couple of weeks ago.

I had a 9 AM appointment so I got there around 8:30. In the U.S., you always have to show up early in order to take care of insurance paperwork or new patient forms. Not here. The doctor's office is on the 1st floor (a U.S. 2nd floor) and the door was closed. Uh oh. After my doctor's visit, I figured it would be better to just wait in the hallway rather than open the door.

At 9, the door opened and the dental hygienist called me in. The office was tiny. The room is about as big as the common area in my flat. There was one dental chair, the office area, a couple of chairs, etc., all in one room.

Academic titles are a big deal over here. Until 2003 dentists earned the MUDr, the same as a medical doctor. Since 2004, dentists now earn MDDr title.

So my appointment was with MUDr. Dalibor Badal. But he wasn't even there. The hygenist did everything. I gave her my VZP card and she did my cleaning. Between my Czech, her English, and universal sign language everything went fine. I'm still not sure if the office doesn't participate in the VZP plan or what, but it cost me 600 Kč (~$32.50). By the way, medical offices don't take credit or debit cards. Luckily I brought enough cash with me.

All in all, everything was fine. I'll make a follow up appointment for six months from now. I wonder if I'll meet the dentist next time.