Visiting the Dentist

When I retired last year, I gave up my Delta Dental plan, figuring I could go to Mexico for dental care and it would likely be more economical than the premiums and co-pays of continuing the insurance plan under COBRA. So it had been about a year since my last checkup and cleaning.

When I went to Quartzsite in January, my plan was to drive down to Yuma for a few days and visit the dentist in Mexico while I was there.When that trip was cut short due to Mom's health, I didn't make it to the dentist. I wanted to go back to Yuma in my Minnie and spend a few days camped near Richard, Dianna and Dale out near Imperial Dam. But the heat wave that hit at the end of February burned off all the appeal of that. In fact, Richard & Dianna moved to the RV park at the Yuma Proving Grounds (which R's Veteran status allows) and Dale moved north to the Prescott National Forest. So I decided to just drive my car over from Mesa, spend the night on the spare bed in R & D's rig, and go into Los Algodones the next morning, then home that afternoon. That's exactly what I did.

The dentist said my teeth looked good; even the one crown I was concerned about only needed polishing near the gum line, not re-sealing. The only glitch we ran into was after she cleaned my teeth with that gritty tooth polish they use, she flossed each one, and the dental floss and grit mixture got stuck between two molars (that don't usually have any problems). It was caught so tight, she actually had to put a spacer in between them and drill a tiny bit to get it loose. She said that has never happened before and I told her it had never happened to me either! Anyway, all is well that ends well, and we were on our way to a cute outdoor restaurant for some delicious lunch before walking back across the border.

We made a quick stop at the Purple Pharmacy on our way to the border gate to pick up a Z-Pack and some antibiotics to keep on hand. The line at the border took about an hour and a half, but it was shaded and we talked to pass the time, and before we knew it we were back in our cars headed our separate ways; R & D back to the RV park and me back to Mesa.

Thanks go to Brian and Carrie for keeping Hanna overnight and to Richard and Dianna for their hospitality.