Pushers

I am back to being the vision of good health...hooray!

I'm on a doctors visit kick. Gearing up to go backpacking in Japan next month, and I figured it's about time to get some long-neglected medical things done. I haven't been to the dentist or optometrist in over two years, stupid I know, especially since I actually have medical insurance to cover most of the costs.

Trying to pick a dentist is hard, so I checked out Forumosa, an online expat discussion forum, hoping to get a recommendation on a good dentist, only to be totally discouraged by all the accounts of BAD dentists who rush through a cleaning, do only half your teeth and ask you to come back for another appointment, or simply don't do very much at all. Ironically, because of affordable national health insurance, a lot of dentists try to see as many patients a day in order to maximize on the insurance reimbursements, and many are becoming as lazy and indifferent as Communist workers in a state-owned factory.

Luckily, a friend of mine recommended a dentist not too far from where I live. After filling out a short form, the receptionist gave me a small plastic tote bag with complimentary gifts: a small tube of toothpaste, a box containing 20 new toothbrushes, and a packet of those plastic toothpick flosses that old Chinese men love to use then discard on the street. I figured I could use the toothpaste, but really don't have any use for the toothbrushes because I use an electric toothbrush, and I wouldn't be caught dead using the plastic toothpick flosses because I'm neither in the right age group nor gender. So, trying not to be wasteful, I bring the box of toothbrushes and toothpick flosses to the receptionist thinking she can give it to someone else, but she refused to take them back, suggesting instead that I could give them to someone else. Ok, whatever, maybe I can find someone who will put them to good use.

Next, I go see an optometrist for a new pair of contact lenses. While I'm paying my bill, the receptionist tells me that the doctor has given me a prescription for anti-fatigue eye drops and hands it to me in a little white plastic bag. Sure my eyes get tired, but I've always figured that a good cure for tired eyes is to get some shut-eye, not apply some drops to force the tireness to go away. I protest and tell the receptionist that I really don't need these drops and would she please take it back. She refuses, explaining that the drops are already covered under my medical insurance and are of no additional cost to me, so I might as well take them in case I need to use them.

Despite trying to push drugs and medical supplies on me, I have to say that both the dentist and optometrist do credit to their profession.