One of the first things I did when I came to Okinawa, now seven and a half years ago, was to go to the dentist. This is post number 3.

https://quietripple.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/gaaargh/

Since then I have had a lot of tooth stuff: extractions, endless root canal treatment, many crowns. Thank God for Japanese health care whereby I get all this very, very cheap. There are no frills.

The waiting room.

Anyway, I have tooth pain again.  Mori sensei, my best friend, fumes against Californian dentistry. “Bad work, no care!” It is true that 3 of my Japanese crowns were to replace crowns that I had paid a lot of money for in Palo Alto.  Infection had grown at the bottom of the root canal necessitating removal of crown and restart of root canal treatment.

So, he rips off another $2000 crown and throws it in the bin. I reconcile myself to at least 10 visits to the dentist before the meticulous treatment is finished.

Mori sensei and I have been friends for over seven years. He also has a boat at the Marina and still has a Mohawk haircut.