When we moved to France we thought we'd done our research but there was something missing from our checklist. A dentist!
Like most people, I think, we don't consider our teeth until they start to protest and then they grab our attention.
We had visited several Brocantes and fairs and were introduced to several locals and we both commented on the high rate of gaps. Gaps in their teeth were evident especially amongst the middle aged and elderly. A smile which resembled a broken down stone wall in Swaledale. Some tried to disguise the absent teeth by stretching their lips over the mouth which gave a sort of botched Botox injection look.
Even when we both commented on certain people we dismissed it as some sort of French Peasant thing raising a little chuckle.
Then as usual the tooth ache struck at the most inconvenient time. We located a dentist and the offending tooth was removed. Straightforward and a bit expensive about 200 euros with about 15 euros refund through the French Social Scheme.
Then came the follow up appointment expecting to see the same man but no.
The door opened to a new room as the catwalk model of an assistant invited us in.
In this ambient lit state of the art technological equipped room fitted with a dentist chair that look like it had been beamed down from the deck of the Starship Enterprise. Invited to sit in the plush chairs behind his family photograph adorned desk. From every angle 'perfect' children and family grinned back displaying their immaculate ivories. Even grandmother who looked a bit odd with the crinkly yellow aged face framing white gleaming teeth. There was even a large photo of the perfect family, without granny, hanging on the wall lit by especially fitted and positioned lights. The centre piece being the man facing us, his model wife and children all smiling. We'd walked into the centre page of some glossy magazine. I actually felt underdressed and intimidated. My concentration was broken by the Dentist dressed in a perfectly pressed white dentists gown which was offset by his Mediterranean tanned skin and chique French looks. A look of a French Adonis.
Speaking in his heavily accented perfect English he viewed my wife's x rays and records, which couldn't be much because we'd only been once.
He outlined in perfect English the work that he considered necessary to bring her teeth up to the standard of granny! which was a bit disturbing because she looked like she was fitted with someone elses teeth and I wondered if she was able to close her mouth or was the 1950's colgate toothpaste smile a permanent feature.
He showed us her x rays which revealed the little screws that held the tombstone rows in place. In actual fact granny looked better as an xray!
Charming his way through the presentation with the skill of a professional he made brief reference to the amount, which was the only bit that he mumbled and caused me to partially raise from my seat in an effort to catch the illusive figure when he uttered it again. I managed to hear 7 and settled back.
This dental salesman then skillfully slipped the credit forms onto the table with an easy payments plan! We could pay over 5 years at so much a month but still the amount was not revealed as he produced another picture of granny. ( This was a serious error on his part ) No-one would want to look like granny he should have used his stunningly attractive wife in this slick lecture. The illusion would have been complete and price would not have been an issue. But every time granny flashed across the desk it was like a hypnotist clicking his subject back into reality.
We were then smoothed into the Foyer so the model assistant could complete the paperwork. This would enable Prince Charming to recommence another lecture with his captured crowd in the waiting room.
Thankfully my wife and I are skilled at dodging the financial commitment bullet without having to discuss it first. In France you need a list of documents before you can commit to a financial commitment and on this occasion it was proposed to be 7000 euros spread over 5 years at 4.5%. Not likely grabbing the forms we left assuring the young lady that we would return the forms within the offer period, yes this was a reduced rate offer, allegedly.
So before you leave the shores of the UK consider your dental plan because there is no equivalent UK system in France. Perfect teeth come at a price. Most insurance plans do not cover teeth and those that do are prohibitively expensive.
Another thing I learnt after a while in France. Unlike the UK the French are generally polite on a one to one basis especially when you walk in and out of places 'bonjour' from complete strangers is the norm. If you did this in the UK there's a chance that you'd be ignored considered weird or open yourself up to some physical or verbal abuse. So if you are in this situation in France and people fail to respond or look agitated be very suspicious not of the person but of the institution. They are displaying their displeasure at the institution not you!
Which usually means that there's an expensive reason. We once saw a very petite lady official dealing with a monstrous sized man in the CPAM office at Angouleme who was complaining about his 'facture' bill to you and I. So watch out............
Like most people, I think, we don't consider our teeth until they start to protest and then they grab our attention.
We had visited several Brocantes and fairs and were introduced to several locals and we both commented on the high rate of gaps. Gaps in their teeth were evident especially amongst the middle aged and elderly. A smile which resembled a broken down stone wall in Swaledale. Some tried to disguise the absent teeth by stretching their lips over the mouth which gave a sort of botched Botox injection look.
Even when we both commented on certain people we dismissed it as some sort of French Peasant thing raising a little chuckle.
Then as usual the tooth ache struck at the most inconvenient time. We located a dentist and the offending tooth was removed. Straightforward and a bit expensive about 200 euros with about 15 euros refund through the French Social Scheme.
Then came the follow up appointment expecting to see the same man but no.
The door opened to a new room as the catwalk model of an assistant invited us in.
In this ambient lit state of the art technological equipped room fitted with a dentist chair that look like it had been beamed down from the deck of the Starship Enterprise. Invited to sit in the plush chairs behind his family photograph adorned desk. From every angle 'perfect' children and family grinned back displaying their immaculate ivories. Even grandmother who looked a bit odd with the crinkly yellow aged face framing white gleaming teeth. There was even a large photo of the perfect family, without granny, hanging on the wall lit by especially fitted and positioned lights. The centre piece being the man facing us, his model wife and children all smiling. We'd walked into the centre page of some glossy magazine. I actually felt underdressed and intimidated. My concentration was broken by the Dentist dressed in a perfectly pressed white dentists gown which was offset by his Mediterranean tanned skin and chique French looks. A look of a French Adonis.
Speaking in his heavily accented perfect English he viewed my wife's x rays and records, which couldn't be much because we'd only been once.
He outlined in perfect English the work that he considered necessary to bring her teeth up to the standard of granny! which was a bit disturbing because she looked like she was fitted with someone elses teeth and I wondered if she was able to close her mouth or was the 1950's colgate toothpaste smile a permanent feature.
He showed us her x rays which revealed the little screws that held the tombstone rows in place. In actual fact granny looked better as an xray!
Charming his way through the presentation with the skill of a professional he made brief reference to the amount, which was the only bit that he mumbled and caused me to partially raise from my seat in an effort to catch the illusive figure when he uttered it again. I managed to hear 7 and settled back.
This dental salesman then skillfully slipped the credit forms onto the table with an easy payments plan! We could pay over 5 years at so much a month but still the amount was not revealed as he produced another picture of granny. ( This was a serious error on his part ) No-one would want to look like granny he should have used his stunningly attractive wife in this slick lecture. The illusion would have been complete and price would not have been an issue. But every time granny flashed across the desk it was like a hypnotist clicking his subject back into reality.
We were then smoothed into the Foyer so the model assistant could complete the paperwork. This would enable Prince Charming to recommence another lecture with his captured crowd in the waiting room.
Thankfully my wife and I are skilled at dodging the financial commitment bullet without having to discuss it first. In France you need a list of documents before you can commit to a financial commitment and on this occasion it was proposed to be 7000 euros spread over 5 years at 4.5%. Not likely grabbing the forms we left assuring the young lady that we would return the forms within the offer period, yes this was a reduced rate offer, allegedly.
So before you leave the shores of the UK consider your dental plan because there is no equivalent UK system in France. Perfect teeth come at a price. Most insurance plans do not cover teeth and those that do are prohibitively expensive.
Another thing I learnt after a while in France. Unlike the UK the French are generally polite on a one to one basis especially when you walk in and out of places 'bonjour' from complete strangers is the norm. If you did this in the UK there's a chance that you'd be ignored considered weird or open yourself up to some physical or verbal abuse. So if you are in this situation in France and people fail to respond or look agitated be very suspicious not of the person but of the institution. They are displaying their displeasure at the institution not you!
Which usually means that there's an expensive reason. We once saw a very petite lady official dealing with a monstrous sized man in the CPAM office at Angouleme who was complaining about his 'facture' bill to you and I. So watch out............
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