May 2020 I entitled a blog “a trip to the dentist”. It was a blog written under Covid times, and while 2 years later we have moved on in time we haven’t moved on that much.

May 2020 was not the last time I visited the dentist, but my 6 monthly visit has been delayed by 4 months due to lockdowns and the last place that I wanted to visit when out of lockdown was the dentist. But falling off the horse gave me not only one heck of a bruise on my backside, but also a chipped top left front tooth. While not experiencing that much discomfort when eating hot/cold food/drink it was definitely uncomfortable when I was drinking rosé piscine (rosé wine over ice cubes) and while at Naked Water and watching Steel Magnolias I had to resort to drinking my wine through a straw.

Going to the dentist now requires a 24 hour covid test. Just yesterday it was announced that regular covid testing wasn’t going to be a thing anymore unless you went out of Suzhou, but the dentist still required it. Even in the old days of 2020, I didn’t need a covid test! Thankfully though the regulations changed again, and the appointment that I booked for Eleanor next week only needs a 48 hour test. And as with all things – that could change again between now and then.

I have also changed dentists to one a lot closer to school and a stone’s throw away from where we used to live pre-boarding. This dentist has been recommended so many times in the expat WeChat groups that I decided now would be a good time to change. LL dental is in the 4th floor of a mall diagonally opposite from the major hospital in SIP. It is also in the same mall as a supermarket so easy to do a grocery shopping after dental work.

When I fell off the horse landing face down, I remember spitting out sand from my mouth, and I recall running my tongue over my teeth again to make sure they were intact. There had been a rough side to them, but until Martin had confirmed that I had chipped a tooth I wasn’t sure what damage I done. The dentist confirmed today, that I hadn’t just chipped one tooth, I had chipped two – and I had lost a filling. The additional chip was my front bottom left tooth. I didn’t think my insurance would cover it, and I hadn’t queried it with them either. (Probably should have also changed the blog to 2 chips!)

2 options – veneers which would be the shade of my teeth, but she would have to cut the top layer of my tooth (I have no idea whether that is the correct thing or whether that got lost in translation) or she could fill them but it would be a different shade and if I ate anything too hard it may come off. I went for this option. The thought of cutting the tooth was more than enough detail for my brain to have shut down and decided no way.

So three fillings later, 2850 rmb (about £350) and 90 minutes later my teeth are back to being complete and the insurance company will pay! Once again I am very, very, very lucky.