Phew!
It has been more than a month since I updated this blog. I disappeared from the face of blogsville, came back for a weekend, and then disappeared again for a week. Yes dear friends, I am here to answer the question - where was I?
In the rural parts of the state with no internet access. Yes yes, I have finally had a taste of what life is like without any internet. Actually, pretty nice. it was like a nice getaway to a place where I knew noone: in a free apartment provided by the education comission that was fabulously furnished, and working with children that ranged from 1 - 18 years in age! I was on my rotations for the whole month of February cleaning little kids’ teeth, putting sealants on their teeth, talking to their parents, going to rural schools and assisting in screenings, observing osteoo-somethin surgery, attending meetings, visiting dentists in the locality, and doing everything related to dental hygine and pediatrics! Remember my OR experience on the Gujju new year and that things we do on New Years happen all year round? Well guess what? I got another chance to be in the OR this month. However, I was not allowed to touch the patient at all this time since it was a private hospital. Overall, I had a great time and got loads of experience working with children.
Children! Ah, where do I begin? They are the easiest and the hardest to work with. So many children stand out that I do not know where to begin and talk about each one I met. Let me start with the youngest.
I had the privilege of being the FIRST dental professional a little girl saw when she had just turned one! I went out to the waiting room, called her name, and in came her parents, and her sister carrying the little baby. We sat her in the chair. She was pretty intimated at the sigh of this huge chair. I smiled, talked to the little cutie for two seconds
“Hi sweetie” brought the cutest smile on her face. Then we sat her down in the chair and I showed her the toothbrush. She took it - maybe she liked the colors on it. I asked the mother if she had tried brushing with the girl, and the answer was negative. So this was really the first time that her oral health was being evaluated. I proceeded to put on my gloves, mask, and eye wear all the while smiling at her, reassuring her. But ofcourse, all the cover up probably made me look like a rogue about to attack her. I could see fright in her eyes, and then she looked at her parents who smiled back and reassured her. The mother took pictures when I first opened her mouth and looked at her - chronicled her life and first visit to the dentist! She did not let me brush her teeth and started crying. No luck. The dentist came in, and we had to hold her down to check her teeth. She cried and screamed, which I must say was great because it kept her mouth open 
She might not remember, but I will always remember her first visit to the dentist!
Surprisingly, the very next patient was also seeing a dentist for the first time. He was two and the most adorable boy, much more cooperative. Another delight!
Another boy that stands out was 15 years old. Poor guy bore me cleaning his teeth for half an hour and then I said, “Buddy, we gotta do five sealants on you now” I heard the loudest groan ever! I said, ” aww comon, it will be quick and look at the bright sides, you dont have to come back for six months after that.” — “oh allright” was the half-convinced reply. I had a very difficult time doing sealants on him because they were in his very back teeth on the top which are very hard to reach. Yet, he was a trooper and stayed calm and patient tilting his head up everytime I asked him to. His mother, when I finally called her in to talk, said, “wow I didnt know you did sealants too, i was wondering why it took so long.”
The best part: the dentist checked the sealants and said they were excellent!
Then there was the five year old who just would not sit still. A little bit of cajoling and smiling did not work so I said firmly, “Will you please sit still and cooperate with me so that I can give you the prize at the end?” His cute reply - “Oh you are much better looking than the other lady.” How could I have not smiled at this now? Then he just kept talking, and I let him for a few minutes.
“You look like my brother’s girlfriend.”
Me: “Oh really? ”
“uh huh”
Me: “but I am not :D”
“do you have a boyfriend?”
Me, rolling my eyes…sheeez kids nowadays! “yes I do”
“whats his name?”
Me: “why do you wanna know”
“I just wanna…whats his name?”
Me: “ohhhh comon, you dont wanna know”
Then all of a sudden he touched my earring and said: “Oh these earrings are nice, where did you get them?”
Little flirt!!!
Me: “aww thanks! My boyfriend gave them to me”
“Yea, whats his name?”
Me: “hahah you are never gonna know! Now comon, lets sit still so I can let you go home quickly. Will you help me?”
“uh huh”
He was the littlest, most precious flirt, and still wouldnt sit still. It was a miracle I was able to work on his teeth.
There were soo many more beautiful moments I shared with these kids and I could write a book, but I shall spare ye and write this one that stood out the most!
Six year old girl.
Okay sweety, we are going to take some pictures of your teeth.
–”Does it hurt?”
No! Not at all. I wouldnt hurt you ever, look… its easy. You bite on this little thing and I will put my big camera next to your cheek and count till five and you will be done.
–”okay”
I tried putting the film in her mouth for her x-rays but she started crying. I tried little nice talk but she kept crying.
honey you gotta tell me why you are crying. You just cant cry and not tell me why
–”It hurts”
No sweety, look its easy. It will take two seconds.
After much cajoling I got her to let me take a few x-rays which actually came out pretty well.
Then I proceeded to look at her teeth and use my explorer to check for pits and fissures in her teeth. She saw this sharp instrument and flinched even before it entered her mouth.
–”WHATS THATTTTTTTTTTTTT”
Its my little mirror and little helper that helps me check your teeth.
–”It huuuuuurrrrrrrrrrttttttttttttttttttttttsssssssss”
Trust me ladies and gentlemen, I hadnt even put it in her mouth.
Okay sweety, open your mouth.
–”I dont want to”
Open please
–”i dont want to”
Now I had to be a little harsh with her.
Listen sweety, you dont tell the dentist that you dont want to. You do what they ask you. I am only going to help you okay?
I got a nod.
So lets not say you dont want to. Lets do it. Take this tissue and wipe those tears off please.
I worked on her and when I finished “See that wasnt bad, you were crying for no reason”
She just nodded. Then the dentist came in to check my work. And she asked the little girl, so what grade do you give to Ms. K for working on your teeth. An “A” or a “B”
Even after all the crying and my harsh words she said “A+” and hugged me before she left!
I learnt loads in the past few weeks, the most important thing I learnt: Children have cavities and when they do, they have LOADS! I will update you guys a little more later on. But I am back at my apartment and have internet access!! Yay!
Am I first?
Gimme my gold!
And now lemme read…
Read it all !
Great experience u had. And a five year old flirt, whoa!
Wonder what I will be like at a dentist’s chair. Not any better than these kids ;-P
I hv stayed for a week last year without internet, phone or any sort of communication. It was tough! Now u got the taste of it, so u will know better
hi kaush, finally. I was thnking you were lost in dentures somewhere.
wow kaush, i did not know ummerica had something called a rural area and that too a place where there is no internet access, how is that possible. it is as good as India then nahi?
your patients are very interesting. You are good with kids thats for sure. Thank god I am not in a profession where I have to deal with kids. I just cannot take the crying and yelling, scares the hell out of me.
Did you take pics of any of your patients? I you did, post them if you can.
Yes yes Deepak, ye get yer gold!I did have a great experience..and I tell you ye aaj kal ke ladke! Waise you in the dental chair? Please DJ, have some pity on us poor people….aise hi our suicide rate is the highest….you want the mental asylum rates to go up too or what? ;)and haanji..life without internet seems stone ageish now, especially when you are used to checking emails and BLOGS every few hours!
LOL Priyangini, I was lost…not in dentures but in its opposite…baby teeth!!So in any case..drowned in loose and falling teeth and bokhi smiles
Priyangini, actually there was internet in others houses but since I did not buy any service for a month and there are no cyber cafes in the US, and there were very few homes with internet …so it was all the more difficult. and yes yes…rural parts bhi hote hai..aur aise log bhi hote hai jo ration-type installments main ya free govt paid programs pe hote hai..poverty is every where…just glossed up here in the US and ofcourse not as dominant!
As for working with kids..I LOVE IT! My specialty is pediatrics thats why I got to spend this whole month with kids. No doubt they test your patience and tire you..but they are the most rewarding to work with. Actually its better working with kids than adults..atleast in dentistry!
and I was not allowed to take pictures with kids in the clinic..but I did get SIXTY pictures of me taken at a day care center where I was teaching them how to brush teeth. One picture per child. I have asked the teacher to email it to me..agar woh kare then I will for sure post it or show it to ya!
and I guess I should get the bronze
and yeah.. tht 5 yr old flirt was sooo cute in his questions :))
kaush.. u seem to have a great great time with kids.. I jus love talking abt kids alott…
aaj kal ke bachche
And it would be nice if u share more such experiences with kids..
i would jus love to hear more n more…
and welcome back…. nice to see u back..
finally a post..n a lovely one….grt fun with kids….kaam+mazaa….kya baat hai…btw i remembered u alot while u were away all this while…cuz even my Root Canal treatment is going on….i am scared of injections the most…so an imp lesson u learnt…..good one there…lotsa cavaties
Yes Prasad, you do get the bronze! I do in fact have a great time with kids! Just love it! I have so many experiences to share that I could write a book! and yup I tell you, aaj kal ke bacche…They seem to know it all. and thanks so much for liking it! I will definitely share more. its nice to be back and see you here too!
Thanks Mehak, sachi I did have kaam + mazaa…chalo daant ke bahaane toh yaad karte ho hame. so how is the RCT going on? and mehakji do not be scared of injections! think about it this way…what if he did NOT give you the injections..think about the agony then! hehehe
Hi,
So finally a post. I too wasn’t able to access net for more then a month and I tell you - I have got so used to it that - it really felt very odd.
I love kids and I wish if I myself could have those beautiful moments. You are really very fortunate.
Waiting to here more….
Navjot,so you too have experienced life without internet in this tech world! Sigh. Honestly, working with kids made me wanna be a kid all over again! Its beautiful
wow it was pleasure reading & knowing abt the kids & their acts. haha. wow flirto boy! good haha cutie cutie kids.. tiny tiny teeth..cavities, how ture the world minus interenet is a diff altogether, I experienced it last yearend when i went for trek, no mobile, no internet.. a diff world,god I neeed a break soooooon. u keep us updated buddy!
hey nice blog u got here
I have been to rural parts of Canada too when I was working for Govt. There are places here that don’t even have electricity (although its by choice as they want to live like that).
So, in short, you were torturing kids the whole month. It’s better than torturing us…LOL {I know I should not take pangas with you coz you may test my teeth one day}
Children are fun and they do say the darndest things in the world. By the way I was not off when I said “torture”, I mean you were all ready with gloves, mask and all that jazz.
I love the little 5 year old flirt. When I was a kid (less than 2 yrs old) I used to smile looking at girls for some reason. So, one day mom took me to a nurse for my injection on bum. I saw her and smiled and then she turned me and injected, so I started crying but when I turned back I saw her and started laughing. So, my tears were rolling but I was laughing and she said, “I have not seen a boy who can cry and laugh at same time”
Note: Above incident is as narrated by my Mom.
This was me and my cute little smile ——–>
Who wouldn’t fall for this…sigh!!
Chandu, it was a pleasure working with these kids. And good, you too have known life without internet right? Its good but after a whileyou kinda want it. But I am sure you werent complaining since you were in the himalayas!
Fontzer Hey welcome and thanks!
Ricky, actually the kids were torturing me instead of you guys!!! hehe….I can so see you bring a baby flirt..not that you are any less now! and I am sure your mom has more such stories to tell about your flirting escapades!
Oh wow..ur bac !!
Thats a nicee post loved reading it, what a wonderful time u had, with kids
Thankfully, when I was a kid, I never had frequent visits to the Dentist, hardly can remember any..my teeth were n is still in good shape
only the capping left now…ohh common kaush…i remember u…our lil meet…we still discuss the meet…ricky(though he was not there) , prasad..chandu
JS yes I am back! I did have a fabulous time with these kids! Actually, thankfully as a kid i did not have many visits to the dentist either hahhaa….and my teeth are also in great shape!
Mehak Chalo acha hai….capping ke bahot dhyaaan rakhna us daant ka…..and I wish I could come to bangalore again..sigh!