Finding the Right Physician and Dentist
Posted on Wednesday, 10 September 2014
Finding
the Right Physician
And
Dentist
By Apolinario Villalobos
Health is wealth, so goes the saying which
is very true. Simply said, it is better to have just enough money but with a
healthy body than having much money but with a sickly body that needs a doctor
almost every day.
It is not easy to find the right doctor for
one’s needs, especially if the ailment being suffered is not easy to diagnose.
A friend who is a practicing family physician admitted that sometimes he has to
consult his colleagues about cases that he is handling so that right drugs can
be prescribed, or better yet, so that referral can be made if necessary. It
just shows that several consultations may not give reliable result. The same is
true with the finding of the right dentist, some of whom may be careless in
handling patients.
In my case, it took many years before I was
able to find Dr. Ceasar V. Palma, a
family physician who not only patiently did the routine physical check the
first time I visited him in his simply furnished clinic, but also patiently
asked personal information that involved my diet, sleeping habit, hobbies, etc.
before finally prescribing a drug for hypertension. The other physicians that I
consulted before, did not even bother to ask questions about my diet, but just
based their prescription on my age, and worst, did not even give me guidance on
what food to eat. Dr. Palma, walks or commutes to hospitals where his clinics
are located, as well as, when calling on patients at home, the reason perhaps,
why despite his fifty-plus years of age, he moves with vim like a yuppy. He
uses himself as an example on what clean living is all about. His schedule is
so hectic but he still got time for medical missions in barangays of Bacoor,
Cavite.
And, for my dental woes, it took several
extractions by different dentists before I finally found a dentist with a
“gentle touch”. In the past, I suffered from nocturnal bleedings for four
nights due to haphazard extraction by a dentist who just dispatched me after a
bloody execution of her profession on me. There was also a time when I almost
had a locked jaw due to miscalculated injection of the anesthesia. And another
one yet, extracted the wrong tooth which was beside the targeted one! What is
sad about those episodes in my life, is that I have trusted the dentists for a
long time. I could not help myself then, from feeling abused and exploited.
I had four loose teeth two months ago, but
today, they are down to just two, thanks to Dr. Jocelyn Reyes-Atregenio, a dusky dentist with immaculately
clean clinic in Imus City, Cavite. Her clinic was the third that I checked
before finally, having my name listed as a walk- in patient. I was lucky to be
the first in the list. After about ten minutes of waiting, a smiling young
woman arrived who I thought was another patient, but she went straight inside
the extraction cubicle, and in a few moments, she came out dressed in the white
doctor’s garb. I was surprised and almost was reluctant to sit in the dental
chair due to my apprehension, as I thought of her as a fresh board passer.
Careful not to sound fresh, I asked how long she had been in the profession.
When she told me that she has been practicing it for more than five years but
spent a longer stint abroad, that calmed me down.
I told her about my apprehensions resulting
from bad experiences in the hands of other dentists. To further calm me down,
she told me that she will not dispatch me until the hole in my gum is finally
sealed with a blood clot. True to her words, after extraction, she patiently
applied pressure to the hole where a tooth once was, and until after three
changes of cotton balls, she finally showed the fourth without blood stain –
with a big grin, as if saying, “see?” That was two months ago, and two days
ago, I had another extraction – with the usual relief. My two more loose teeth
are reserved in her care.
The problem with some of the professionals
along the line of health care today, is their over-confidence due to too much
familiarity with patients. This results to their carelessness sometimes,
thinking that the patients will not mind. It is therefore, of due importance
that we should find the right medical practitioner on whose hands we entrust
our health, and eventually…life.
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