Let's face it...no one likes to go to the dentist. But, if you like your teeth, it's not a bad idea to go regularly (I've seen some "hand grenade mouths" around here...the kind you just cringe to look at...). In our line of work, being dentally ready to deploy is just as important as having all your shots, having your wills and powers of attorney up to date, and being able to shoot your weapon and hit what you aim at.

At a minimum, you must go annually, and since my year was coming up, Ron, Shon and I headed out. Shon's the new guy, and it was a good opportunity to show him around town. Plus, he was there to watch our backs while we were indisposed...Gotta stay safe, you know...

The clinic was nice. We got there early, and after filling out some paperwork, were called right back. They had all the newest equipment...ultrasonic scalers, "sand blaster" polisher units, X-rays in every operatory. Not at all what I had expected, and a far cry from the torture instruments that I had when I was a young company commander with a dentist in my company. But that's another story...

The room I was in had a huge, wall sized picture of some gorgeous beach and islands scene...not sure where it was, but when I asked the Filipina hygienist if it was Borocay, she asked, "How do you know about Borocay?" I told her that I'm half Filipino (my wife) and about The Global Trip website by Erik Trinidad...for more on Borocay, see A Mis-Match Made In Paradise.

Anyhow, during the exam, they discovered 2 cracked fillings. The doc said, "If you want, Dr. Van-Somethingorother has an opening, and we can knock them out right now." I figured, why not? Go ahead and get it done now, and you won't have to worry about it later. So, I agreed.

Dr. VS came in, took a quick look at the fillings, and said, "Well, we can do this with or without anesthesia. It probably doesn't need it, but I'll give it to you if you want...you'll just walk around with both sides of your mouth swollen up for the rest of the day." I don't know why, but doing it without seemed like the best option.

I'm not fond of pain, mind you...I was more hungry than anything, and the thought of having to wait for hours to let the anesthesia wear off was less appealing than having no pain. So, I settled in, hoping that the vaguely Dutch/German sounding guy didn't learn his dentistry from the Marathon Man.

As it turned out, he was right, and other than the horrible sound of a dental drill, there was surprisingly no pain or even mild discomfort...in about 45 min, he'd finished with both fillings, replacing them with the new, white tooth-flavored fillings, and dug out a little more silver for his jewelry collection.

All in all, it was a...dare I say it...NICE experience; probably, it was the best dental experience I've had. The docs checked everything, the hygienists were well trained and did a great job, and they didn't hand you the typical "Brush in up and down motions, and make sure you get the back teeth...floss, floss, floss" shpiel. Rather, they gave out literature describing the equipment they used and the benefits of having the new stuff as opposed to the old...

Ron and I both walked out of there in awe that going to the dentist could be such a good experience. Army dentists...watch out...I may just keep my visa up to date to come back here next August for my next cleaning!