A Permanent Keepsake from Kazakhstan

This week, I turned 25, an as often happen as you get older, things began falling apart. On Tuesday, the day after my birthday, I ran to a shop near my college to get a quick snack of a samsa and some juice. Samsa’s are baked meat pastries and usually soft and doughy, but this particular samsa had been baked a little longer than usual and so was a little tougher than usual. Anyway, as I bet into my succulent brunch, I heard a crack and I realized that the front of my tooth was rolling around on my tongue. Now, do not fret friends, this was not an actual tooth, just a porcelin veneer. In fact, my two front teeth have not been real since in almost fifteen years. I originally broke my two front teeth at sailing camp when I was nine, and it was repaired by a small plastic bridge. However, when I was sixteen I was hit by a car, and the collision not only dislodged the bridge, but also broke even more of the tooth. Anyway, at this point it was decided to repair my teeth with a veneer that promised to be better looking and more durable. Still, everything breaks eventually, so it was not a huge surprise when the veneer cracked off during my lunch after nine years of faithful service. Anyway, what makes this episode worth writing about is not the break, but the repair. Normally when volunteers need to go to the dentist, we head to Almaty, but the NATEK conference will be here in Kyzylorda next week, and since I am one of the organizers, I did not have the time to go to Almaty for two or three days, or spend a combined 48 hours on a train so I decided to try to get it repaired here. So on Wednesday, I first went to a dentist recommended by the PC Medical Officer, it was also only a block away from my college. When I got there though, they said they did not have any glue to repair it so they sent me to another dentist’s office called Marzhan Tis. When I met the dentist he said that rather than glue the broken piece back on, they would have to replace the entire veneer/crown. Furthermore, because both teeth were done at the same time, both teeth would have to be replaced even though the second tooth was totally fine. I thought this made sense, so said go ahead. The dentist proceeded to then try to yank the veneer off and when that did not work, start drilling and sanding it off, all without the slightest bit of numbing agent. After awhile the dentist said that we should go to another room and consult with another dentist. This new dentist turned out to be barely older than I was and did not look it, which did not exactly fill me with confidence. He then suggested, or at least what I understood him to suggest was that they glue the broken shard back on and repair the second tooth with filling. Of course, my immediate and furious response was if you were going to glue the piece of the first tooth back on, why destroy the second, perfectly good veneer? As soon as he said that I got out of the chair and was about to head straight to Almaty on the next train, NATEK or no, but for better or worse the last train that would get me to Almaty before the end of the work day on Friday had already gone, so I went back in and talked to the dentist and he clarified and said that the young dentist had actually said that it would be one new crown and then filling to fix the other one. I said no, there would be two totally new crowns and he agreed. He then molded the teeth and told me I could come in the next day at three.

I was still pretty pissed off, so the next morning I went over with my counterpart to help translate some of the more technical jargon and asked them point blank why, if there was never going to be any gluing in the first place. The dentist said that I had misunderstood and that it was never the plan to glue the crown back on. Apparently, the reason they had sent me to the second dentist was not that they didn’t have the supplies, but that the doctors at the clinic were not experienced enough, and the doctor at Marzhan Tic was the best. I was definitely still skeptical, so I asked my counterpart if she could come with me. Unfortunately, she had to proctor an exam at three that day so we called the dentist and got the appointment moved to the next morning at nine.

I showed up bright and early at nine, and it turned out that I had nothing to worry about in the first place. The dentist really was the best in the city. He glued the crown back on then filed it down so it fit in my mouth perfectly. I have to admit that its not quite American workmanship. It still feels a bit like I am wearing a retainer sometimes, especially when I drink something very cold. Also, there is a little edge on the back, but over all I was super impressed, and it was by far the cheapest dental procedure that I have ever had. My faith smile was prepared and it restored my faith in Kazakh/socialized medicine. I would do it again, but hopefully, I won’t have to.