The bow cannot possibly stand always bent...

This is the Grevelingenmeer in the province of Zeeland in The Netherlands. Please do not even try to pronounce it, - the Dutch are always told that their language sounds like a throat disease. I just want to show you where I will be spending the next coming days.



On February 1st in 1953, the dykes in the south-western part of The Netherlands broke. Large parts of Zeeland were flooded.

To prevent this from ever happening again, the Delta Project was executed. This included the construction of the Grevelingendam. When another dam was built (the Brouwersdam), the Grevelingenmeer was created.

The dams have neutralized the tidal movements and the water level is fixed at 0.20 metres below Normal Amsterdam Level. The lake has become a stunning recreational area and nature reserve.

I will return to work (and this blog) on May 13th!

A dog has a boss, a cat personnel

A very good friend of mine will graduate from university as a vet. She wants to specialize in a remarkable creature, that never seems to be able to choose between coming in and going out...

The first attempts to domesticate a cat were done in Egypt. The Egyptians used the words miu or mii for a cat: "he or she who mews". Hard evidence for the domestication comes from the mummified cats that were found. Probably, wild cats had been voluntarily taking care of snakes, rats and mice and the Egyptians, -just like we do with stray cats- probably gave them some extras. and allowed them to sleep in their homes.

Meanwhile, the aristocrats (not Aristocats...) were concerned with their oral health. Pieces of stone and sand came with the food and damaged the teeth. Many teeth were extracted (without anaesthetics of course!)

The Egyptians may have succeeded in the extraction of teeth, the domestication of cats is no such success story. My black cat is called Billie (after Billie Jean King, the tennis player). She appreciates her daily bowls of food so much, that every now and then she decides it is time to return the favour. A bird, mouse or frog will be laying in the back yard. They used to be in the bedroom (dead or -barely- alive), so closing the window at night was inevitable. Now, she who mews, MEWS!!!! every morning at the front door. When I open that door, she comes in, always leaving part of her tail outside until I leave her no choice...

It is useless dressing up as a Bouquet if you are a Bucket...

On a corner adjacent to the Oklahoma City bombing memorial (USA) there is this sculpture. The first time I saw this picture, I was swept off my feet.

It is incomparable, of course, but people are often impressed by our clinic. They are used to visit avarage dental practices, where many dentists (still) do not aim at making their patients feel comfortable and equal. There are too many patients, there is too little time, and modern equipment and housing is very expensive.

Of course, we like to impress you, but not with good looks 8888
and big words only! Our '3D digital volume tomograph' really does magic, but a machine cannot make you feel at ease. Even such a great piece of architecture can feel chilly. It is human work to take care of other humans.

At Dentaprime

What You See Is What You Get!

"Roger, Roger." "What's our vector, Victor?" (from Airplane!)

I saw this photo ('policeman at Schiphol') and thought: now where on earth was that pic really taken?

I guess it is all about being in the right place, at the right time.

I have worked at (Amsterdam) Schiphol Airport for seven years and never saw one of the Military Police lads put on or take off his helmet (or perform any other action). All they ever did was sit in their office and try to look important.

They were supposed to protect the travellers and the people working at the shops, restaurants and bars, but I never felt safe. Every work day, I would park my car in the 'strictly personnel' parking lot and even when I was lucky and this only took a minute or two, some of these huge airplanes flew over me. No small and easy jets, but Boeing 747's! It always looked like they were to crash right in front of me.

Even though there was airconditioning and no windows to be opened, I could often smell the kerosine. And sometimes I heard the stuttering engine of a Russian airplane.
For seven years I seem to have been in the wrong place at the right time, because nothing happened.

I live in another part of The Netherlands for quite a few years now, but my brother lives very close to the airport. Whenever I go to see him, it is like going back in time......

"The things which we fear the most in life have already happend to us."
Robin Williams in the film One Hour Photo

Lunch talk

Sometimes a tooth hurts so bad that you cannot eat anything but liquid and soft foods. So you go to the dentist and ask him/her to pull the rotten thing out.

After that, for a while, nothing seems to have changed: eating still is a drag and instead of chewing on a steak again, you find yourself slurping some tasteless soup. Your spouse, lovingly caring for you, took all meatballs.


Drinking is allowed, but there will be restrictions. Those will include your favourite tea (the black) and your daily pints of lager (the dark) or whiskey (the old).

Making lunch should be easy though:
Many glasses of water
A small plate of macaroni and cheese
A lot of ice cream
A lot of ice cream
A lot of ice cream
A lot.....

Many times people ask me if the implantation can take place on the same day as the extractions. Sometimes the answer is yes, but only our implantologist can give the correct answer and only if she sees someone in person. In general, it is better to have teeth extracted in your home country, wait for 6-8 weeks for the jaw to heal and then come to Bulgaria.

Speaking of lunch....

An Irishman, a Mexican and a blonde guy were doing construction work on scaffolding. They were eating lunch and the Irishman said, "Corned beef and cabbage! If I get corned beef and cabbage one more time for lunch, I'm going to jump off this building."The Mexican opened his lunch box and exclaimed, "Burritos again! If I get burritos one more time I'm going to jump off, too."The blond opened his lunch and said, Bologna again! If I get a bologna sandwich one more time, I'm jumping too."

The next day, the Irishman opened his lunch box, saw corned beef and cabbage and jumped to his death. The Mexican opened his lunch, saw a burrito, and jumped, too. The blonde guy opened his lunch, saw the bologna and jumped to his death as well.

At the funeral, the Irishman's wife was weeping. She said, "If I'd known how really tired he was of corned beef and cabbage, I never would have given it to him again!" The Mexican's wife also wept and said, "I could have given him tacos or enchiladas! I didn't realize he hated burritos so much."Everyone turned and stared at the blonde's wife. The blonde's wife said, "Don't look at me. He makes his own lunch!"

Change is constant in a progressive country (Benjamin Disraeli)

My home country is known for its tulips, windmills and wooden shoes.

In Dutch flower shops, however, there are far more roses than tulips, every windmill has been turned into a museum, and even farmers prefer rubber boots these days.

One day you must go there to see for yourself.

What only a few people know: the First Bulgarian Empire covered most of the Balkans, and spread its alphabet, literature and culture among Eastern Europeans. Centuries later, the country came under Ottoman rule for nearly five centuries. In 1878, Bulgaria became a constitutional monarchy again.

What we all seem to know: after World War II, Bulgaria became a communist state and part of the Eastern Bloc.

What we all should know: in 1989 the Wall fell and in 1990, the Communist party gave up its monopoly on power. Bulgaria became a democracy and the market was freed. In 2004 it joined NATO and 3 years later the European Union.

Bulgaria has a population of approximately 7 million.

After a decade, Bulgaria's income from international tourism has grown. It attracts close to 7 million visitors yearly.

Wait a minute.... 7 Million.... Was not that also the country's population?

Bulgaria has changed. One day you must go there to see for yourself.

Titanium

Of course it is a matter of taste, but I think the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao (Spain) is one of the ugliest public buildings in the world.

It is not that I dislike titanium. My wedding ring is made of the strong and light metal and I am very pleased with it for over 5 years now. It does not seem to scratch or wear out.


Losing one or more of your teeth can have consequences.
A gap, espcially in the front, can make you feel very uncomfortable and leave you with no other option than to switch to a closed mouth smile. When one of the back teeth is missing, your smile will not be affected, but your chewing function will! And in both cases there will be bone loss. This can change your face, - it will even look prematurely aged.

Because it is biocompatible and very rarely rejected, titanium is the perfect material for dental implants. (Dental implants, not museums!) In over 98% of cases, the bone grows directly around the implant and creates a new root. Crowns, bridges, or dentures can then be permanently secured to the implant.

There is one thing about the museum I like though:

Fed up to the back teeth?

Although there is something like a 'cute butt', the front always seems to be more important and attractive than the back. Sometimes the back even is useless...

Wisdom teeth are the last teeth at the back on each side of the jaws. They ususally come through when a person is between 16 and 21. Because the other teeth were quicker, there often is not enough room left and the wisdom teeth get trapped. This can cause a lot of pain and lead to disease.

Symptoms of impacted wisdom teeth include:
-Swollen gums
-Un unpleasant feeling or pain when you open your mouth
-Bad breath
-Bad taste in your mouth
-Pain when chewing or biting
The pain can last for days and then disappear, but only to return.

Have these useless teeth always caused so many problems? The answer is no. In general, our ancestors lost their teeth at a very young age (bad oral care) and that their jaws were wider. Back then there usually was more than enough room for the little buggers.

Do not worry, having them removed will not make you less intelligent...

To climb steep hills requires slow pace at first...

In Shakespeare's time, teeth were kept clean (and made enamel-free...) with a mixture of pumice stone, brick and coral. Usually, extracted teeth were replaced with those from another person needing the money. He or she could loose many teeth before the one that fitted the patient's mouth was found...

Although times (and dentistry) have changed, for many people dental treatment abroad is a very steep hill. People simply hate the idea of visiting a dentist, especially if they have to fly to an unknown Eastern-European country. Very often, they do not have a friend or partner to accompany them, and the thought of spending a week or a fortnight at the Black Sea Coast frightens them to death.

I walk with them at a very slow pace and try to help them overcome their fears. Not with smooth sales talk, but with sincere phone calls and e-mails, exploring and slowly cultivating all problem areas.

The standard line 'Any questions, please ask' in my e-mails really means: 'Please keep asking until you are satisfied with the answer.'

Mysterious ways

"I am a vegetarian. The only exception are worms. Some of my best friends were worms.

A few days ago, I got stuck in the sand. I decided to make the best of it and get some sleep. I was far too restless though. Counting my right leg toes only took a few seconds: one...two! Counting every day of my life took a bit longer: 65 years x 365, sometimes 366, days makes.... Counting sheep was no option. There was only one nearby and I knew for sure that was a wolf.

Anyway, I was just loosing my nerves when someone pulled me out. It was a backpacker. He threw a Hollywoodish smile at me and told me never to bury my head in the sand again. When I promised to switch from the worm diet to the Birdwatchers, he sat down and told me his story.

His name was Bono. (Strange name for a human being. Sounded more like a gorilla to me.) Of course he had noticed that people started whispering whenever he was around. Of course he knew what that was about. And of course he had buried his head in the sand because he had been ashamed of his teeth. That was all until a few months ago, when he had finally found what he had been looking for. He had left his home country for some clinic in Bulgaria and came back a different man with a better breath. He really looked pleased with himself and his super white, super straight teeth that he kept flashing at me. Finally, he said: "You too could smile, Big Bird!" and left.

You know what? He was right, because then I saw a worm...."

I learned the way a monkey learns-by watching its parents (Prince Charles)

Many children and adults bite their nails. Very often, these parents and children live(d) in the same house.

Its original cause probably is stress, but very often nail-biting has grown into a habit. It can do a lot of damage to the front teeth. They can be chipped or simply wear out, because front teeth are not meant for chewing. The gums can also be damaged and infections can be spread. Both the nails and teeth look neglected and people hate to see or hear (....) someone else biting his or her nails.

Some doctors prescribe anti-depressants to stop the habit. I think that is a 'kill or cure remedy' - why on earth should someone who is not depressed take anti-depressants? There are better solutions:

Two golden-agers were discussing their husbands over tea: "I do wish that my Elmer would stop biting his nails. He makes me terribly nervous." "My William used to do the same thing," the other woman replied. "But I broke him of the habit." "How?" "I hid his teeth."

Never looked a gift horse in the mouth

You may not like what you see....

Horses have two sets of teeth during their life. They are born with baby teeth, which are gradually replaced by permanent teeth.

A grazing horse spends 12 - 14 hours of his day tearing and grinding grass. His teeth are 'designed' to do so -the enamel is extremely hard-, but regular dental care is necessary.

Many vets are used to treating horses for dental problems. They may, however, look surprised at the dog or cat owner who visits the practice because he or she wants a dental crown for her her pet. In Holland, several vets have specialized and make a living by driving from practice to practice, offering dental care for all sorts of pets.

Unfortunately, dogs will be dogs and chewing on a branch (preferably at least twice their size) will inevitably lead to the breaking of the crowns.

Do not worry: if you have a crown, it will probably last for 10-15 years.

(By the way, if you would explore the Varna region on horseback, please ask our receptionists for more information.)

God sends meat, and the Devil sends cooks (John Taylor)

Quite a few of the rich and famous suffer(ed) or have died from an eating disorder. The most famous are Karen Carpenter who died from anorexia at the age of 32 and TV-host Ophrah Winfrey, who always seems to struggle with the jo-jo effect.

Others are three of the Spice Girls (including, of course,Victoria Beckham), actress Jane Fonda and Princess Diana. Although there is a large female majority, men also suffer from anorexia or bulimia. Elton John is one of them.

An eating disorder not only destroys (a part of) someone's life, but also his or her teeth. Acid erosion, caused by sport and energy drinks and juices but mainly by vomiting, can lead to toothache, loss of enamel and discolouration. Brushing after vomiting only makes things worse and, unfortunately, once enamel is damaged it does not grow back. A dry mouth (another side-effect) can lead to a gum infection.

Crowns and bridges can help damaged teeth to survive, but the eating disorder must be under control. This is extremely difficult, but can be done. It requires patience, guts, a good and specialized therapist and supportive spouses, relatives and friends. I think http://www.b-eat.co.uk/ is a very good website.

Do not worry about what our dentist will say. Many of our patients did not visit a dentist for years. Having an eating disorder is just one of numerous reasons.

A man's home is his castle

Last Saturday, I visited a book fair and went home with 14 Ian Rankins.... A few months ago, I had bought my first Inspector Rebus book and I could not get enough of it! Edinburgh, Blairgowrie, Gleneagles and even Crieff were mentioned.

Many years ago, when I still used to spend my yearly holidays in Crieff, Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister and Tony Blair was still relatively unknown. His father-in-law had a girlfriend who definitely was more famous: even I remember Elsie Tanner from Coronation Street! (Ena Sharples too, but that is a different story.)

As far as I know, Blair Castle has nothing to do with Tony Blair, but the shared surname sure helps me build a bridge to the next part of this blog .

Visiting the castle always was one of the climaxes of my visits to Perthshire. It is very different from other castles, mainly because it is white. Some of the oldest parts date back to the thirteenth century. I have never fancied the idea of stuffed animals (nor has my black dwarf poodle), but Blair Castle has a very impressive collection.

Speaking of castles.... When you Google for 'castle Varna', you find many castles that are for rent or sale. For an average castle, you would have to pay approximately 175.000 Euro. It may even have a pool in the courtyard and yes, you may call it (Gordon) Brown Castle...

When the mouse laughs at the cat there's a hole nearby

If there is a gap between your teeth, no doubt you want it filled to stop the food (including self-caught mice) from going through.


For many years, the only options were a bridge and a plate. A bridge is fine, but a plate....
You can drop and break it, brush and damage it, put it in and take it out and put it in and take it out again and....

Ancient Egyptian and South American civilizations already experimented with dental implants, using ivory or wood. In the 18th century lost teeth were sometimes replaced with extracted teeth of other human donors. Rejection by the body was common. No long-term success was achieved.

In1952 at the University of Lund, Sweden, Per Ingvar Branemark, an orthopedic surgeon, experimented with titanium and discovered that, after some months, it has fused to the bone. Branemark called this osseointegration.

In 2008 at the Dentaprime clinic, Dr Regina Schindjalova daily inserts titanium 3I-implants. Her long-term results are fine!

(You can keep the plate and use it to serve dinner to King Cat.)

Your triumph

A lot of people have to conquer a lot of fear before visiting our clinic in Bulgaria. They do not think of holidays but of pain, a small table with dental instruments, the sound of drilling and a metal or porcelain spitting bowl.

I think they all deserve a monument! There already are quite a few of these 'arcs' in the world, so a few more would not cause anyone harm.

A distinction has been made between dental anxiety, dental fear, and dental phobia.

Dental anxiety is a reaction to an unknown danger. Anxiety is extremely common, and most people experience some degree of dental anxiety especially if they're about to have something done which they've never experienced before. Basically, it's a fear of the unknown.

Dental fear is a reaction to a known danger ("I know what the dentist is going to do, been there, done that - I'm scared!!"), which involves a fight-or-flight response when confronted with the threatening stimulus.

Dental phobia is basically the same as fear, only much stronger ("I know what happens when I go to the dentist - there's no way I'm going back if I can help it. I'm so terrified I feel sick"). Also, the fight-or-flight response occurs when just thinking about or being reminded of the threatening situation. Someone with a dental phobia will avoid dental care at all costs until either a physical problem or the psychological burden of the phobia becomes overwhelming.

Some of this information comes from

You can visit this website for extensive information on dental anxiety, fear and phobia.



In the meantime, I will start building your arc.

Turtle dove

Until some weeks ago, my partner and I owned two young water turtles. Not as large as this baby, but already quite impressive. Unfortunately, we had to bring them to the 'Turtle Reception Center'. There they can hibernate and, in Summer, swim and grow in a huge pond.

Water turtles have no teeth, but you can still loose a finger when taking them out of the aquarium! When you pick up a water turtle, it should seek for safety in its shield. One of our turtles did. The other seemed to be playing 'Exorcist'. I do not know if you have seen this movie, so let me put it this way: it tried to turn its head 180 degrees to enable biting.

We used to laugh about that (in a more and more shaky way) until we held out a towel and saw the turtle set its ... uhm... well.... jaws in it. We could have walked for hours with that towel and turtle!

To human beings, a good set of (if necessary, false) teeth are crucial. We need them for apples, but also for smiling and even for just talking. Our friends the turtles seem to manage fine without them!

Searching for gold?

Can you imagine this bridge being called the Zirconium Oxide Gate Bridge?
I guess not. Still, when talking about dental bridges, zirconium oxide is a very good alternative for gold.

At a time when the music-charts are filled by 'rappers', who wear it not only plentifull around their necks and wrists but also in their mouths, gold has become fashionable again. It really is a matter of taste. Some people think a gold tooth looks distinguished, others use the word 'trivial'.

Zirconium ceramic materials are used for hip-prostheses and automobiles.
We use it for dental crowns and bridges that are

• tough
• aesthetic
• non-allergic
• very precisely made

Metal-ceramic is almost 50% cheaper than zirconium oxide. For back teeth, the material is perfect. However, if your front teeth are in need of a crown, zirconium oxide is a much better choice. Metal-ceramic crowns can show a dark line, which simply is the metal in the crown.

They say that at the end of the rainbow there is a pot of gold. Do not be too lyrical when you find it though. It may just contain some zirconium oxide....

Fear

There is fear of rats (this is one of our pets) and there is fear of dentists....

This morning, I woke up from what I always call a 'nightMary'. My mouth was so dry that I had to get out of the bed and into the kitchen for water immediately.

Ever since I work at the Dentaprime service centre, I suffer from dental hypochondria.
This time, I immediately thought of Sjögren's (dry mouth) Syndrome instead of half the bottle of garlic sauce that I added to my French fries the night before.

While dressing, I relived my dream. An elderly lady was talking to my mother, telling her to make me behave, open my mouth again, keep it open this time and -most of all- stop wining. She then took a metal hook and a metal mirror from a table and started poking into my mouth. The harvest of this visit: some sticky candy, a new appointment for drilling and filling and a huge imflammation.

It was only after many years that I heard my childhood dentist had been banned by her professional association because she had an alcohol problem and never properly cleaned her tools ...

At the age of 18, I finally had enough courage to visit another dentist. I can still hear the breaking of the two front teeth.... It was about the only sound that was made in that musty room. No discussion possible. All teeth were extracted and temporary dentures were put in. They should be replaced after 6 months.

So, after 5-6 years, I accompanied my father to his dentist. The man sold me my first set of permanent dentures and was the third person in his profession that made me feel very small.


A dental treatment in our clinic in Bulgaria is very special. Every effort has been made to ensure that patients receive superior dental care while feeling relaxed and comfortable.



Dr Regina Schindjalova is our leading dentist and implantologist.

Every breath you take...

"A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, but sometimes that is not easy. You have this on one side and that on the other side, and there is always something in between.
Every night, when I am sound asleep, the girls from my harem throw volume packages of mints in my berth. Women... - as subtle as a sledgehammer.
I think it stinks. Not just my breath, but all this. How am I supposed to get out of this zoo and into Bulgaria?"

During the night, the body produces only little saliva and you wake up with a dry mouth and a bad breath. Although the cause of 'morning breath' is natural and common, it still makes me want to run to the bathroom and use the mintiest toothpaste in the world.

Consistent bad breath (halitosis) can be a hell of a problem, for yourself and for the people around you. Sometimes you do not even know you have bad breath, because -although everybody notices and thinks something should be done about it- nobody tells you. People just keep their distance and hope it is not too obvious.

One thing old King Kong here could do is surf to http://www.tau.ac.il/~melros/faq/ and read all about bad breath. When he has found the cause and solved the problem, he can start throwing back the mints.

Happy April fools' day!

Sometimes the Dentaprime service centre resambles a bird's nest.
'French, Dutch, English and German is spoken' is one of our advertising lines. It does not say that, many times, this is done at exactly the same time...

One of my favourite British sitcoms used to be Birds of a Feather. It was about sisters Sharon and Tracey Stubbs, both married to a jailbird. Sharon moved in with Tracey and together with neighbour Dorien, they really were a hilaric trio.


My colleagueas and I are a bit like Tracey and Sharon: most of the time, we share the same room and the same passion, which is finding the best solution to people's dental problems.

Speaking of passion... unfortunately, there is no eccentric Dorien Green here, but we do see her reflected in one of our contacts occassionally.

Working at the Dentaprime service centre equals 8 hours per work day of fun, serious talks, small-scale conferences and brain exercises. Every day is different, because every day we talk to different people or answer their e-mails.

This morning, I received the following e-mail: "Hi, I need train tracks for my teeth. How much?" Train tracks.... sure.... why did not I think of that?! On April 1st, in Holland we sent trainees to a shop to buy a 'baseboard-stepladder'....

I was 99,9% sure someone was pulling my leg, and so I was tempted to ignore the e-mail. However, as the customer is Emperor with Dentaprime, I decided to Google for just a few seconds. That was long enough to find out that 'train tracks' are fixed braces. With a small blush on my cheeks, I started answering the e-mail.

We do not do orthodontics, so I was not able to help her, but I sincerely hope someone else can put her teeth back on the right track.