What happens at the dentist

A few weeks ago a dentist examined the mouths of half our children to see who needs fillings, teeth extracted, and teeth repaired. Last Friday Bill and I took eight of the kids to this dentist's office with an expected arrival time of 9:30. After about 45 minutes of driving in circles and repeatedly calling the dentist to help us find the right turn, which was described as "the house with a tin fence surrounding it," we arrived. The dentist, a Dominican woman living here with her missionary husband, was prepared with her laptop and movies for the kids to watch while we waited. And wait we did- but Bill and I were both prepared with books to read because This is Haiti (TIH). Anderson's front tooth that was chipped years ago was repaired and the dentist took a molding of his gum and teeth to put a fake tooth where he was missing one in the front. Semi decided he did not want his front tooth fixed because he "looks handsome that way", but did have a few cavities filled. Some of the kids were able to have the work done without anesthesia, while many needed their hands held so as not to rip the dental tools out of their mouths (read: bring on the anesthesia!)  Poor Yvenel threw up a few times before he made it to the dental chair. Skip past all your required years of cleaning and go straight to the drilling. Each kid was asked by the others when they were done: "Did you get a piki (shot)?" Mr. Bill made all of us- but not our teeth- happy as he bought ice cream for all before the adventure ended at 5pm. More trips to the dentist to follow for these same children and more.