Going to the Dentist

I finally got my teeth cleaned yesterday!
I tried to before I left but I couldn't get an appointment anywhere.  (Ok, I waited until the last minute... mom pestered me for months and I ignored her.)  I was able to get a consultation at some new dental clinic in Buffalo, one of those national corporate chains that has shiny new equipment and nice staff, but in the end is all about the profits.  In fact, they their own financing office!  I wouldn't say I had a bad experience there, but I'd never been to the dentist before and had them tell me I needed to make a separate appointment to get my teeth cleaned and my cavities filled.  My mom's dentist was able to squeeze me in the day before I left and decided only one of the 6 cavities I supposedly had really required a filling so he took care of that but his hygienist was booked.
Ever since then it has been on my mind, and there are a ton of dentists here, and many specifically cater towards foreigners.  I've been walking past one office with a sign advertising cleanings for 500 baht (less than $18) so I did some research and decided that it didn't seem to risky.
I went to a dental clinic on Nimmanhaemin, one of the touristy sections, about midrange price wise but I decided I'd rather pay a little more for a nicer place than get hepatitis or something.  I was generally impressed.  The office was clean and the equipment up to date.  The dentist was young but spoke English quite well and was very nice even while I was grilling him on the ingredients in the composite they use for fillings.  He found a cavity of course (they always do!) I would've been more suspicious but it had been hurting a bit anyway.  I really hadn't planned on getting any work done overseas but he assured me there was no mercury in the composite and it was completely safe.
The appointment wasn't much different than one in the US, except for the chatter over my head in Thai, he yelled at me about the same things every other dentist has (use a soft toothbrush!  brush up and down!)  He used some dreadful machine for the cleaning though.  It definitely got the stains off my teeth (he had me look in a mirror before and after to make sure I was happy with the work), but it made the most horrific noise.   Oh, and in Thailand the dentists do all of the work.  There were two women in the room assisting him, handing him tools and doing all the preparations, but he did the cleaning and everything himself.  Apparently hospitals are no different, even blood draws are only done by the doctor.
So I finally got my teeth cleaned, and a filling, and I only paid 1,600 baht ($56).  Not bad!