dentist

April 21, 2007

Peace Corps provides volunteers with the best medical care in the world, they say, and from what I’ve seen they’re right. Not only do we get annual checkups with dentists and gynecologists and blood analysis, we can see the PC doctors whenever we want to in Asuncion. In fact, they’ll pay for our trip down and hotel, and we receive a replenishable medical kit that includes everything from dental floss and condoms to sunscreen and Tylenol.

I went for my yearly dental checkup last week, and boy, did I get a shock. First of all, I was expecting the kind of doctors offices like in the US – crowded, lots of waiting, annoying. But no. Peace Corps contracts with the best and fanciest doctors in the country. I was the only patient and the bathroom had fluffy towels and fancy hand soap (I used it several times, just because it was so pretty!!). But here’s the biggest shock:

Number of cavities my first 30 years: 3
Number of cavities my first year in Paraguay: 3

Can you believe it??!! I eat relatively well and brush my teeth with fluorinated toothpaste, and for the past few months have been using a fluoride rinse as well, but I guess it’s not enough. The dentist said that it’s quite common for volunteers to have this kind of reaction to the culture in Paraguay, and specifically to the lack of fluoride in the drinking water here. I forgot that they even do that in the US!! And as I learned when doing dental charlas in the schools, weekly use of fluoride cuts risk of cavities by 40%.

Plan of attack: use a fancy expensive toothbrush, the kind with different colored and sized bristles and a bendable head, sing happy birthday twice while I brush my teeth so I’ll be sure I’m brushing long enough, continue brushing at least twice a day, and use the fluoride rinse twice a day too.

I also plan to casually bring up my experience with some teacher friends and see if we can be doing more dental education in the schools this year. The schools are supposed to be provided with fluoride for the kids to rinse weekly, but it never seems to make its way out here, so we have to go into Asuncion to the Ministry of Health to get it. I went once last year to get fluoride pills for one school, but if I go a second time I want someone from Tacuati to come with me so they’ll know how to access this resource for themselves once I’m gone.