Some people fear the dentist, I don’t. I once fell asleep having a root canal, something that even the dentist couldn’t believe! But if there is something worthwhile fearing about a visit to the dentist, it’s surely the bill you’ll be presented with at the end?

So for the second time this year I’ve taken advantage of some affordable dental care. The first time was when I had a wisdom tooth yanked out of my mouth in India (and it shattered in the process!), and today I had a checkup and a clean at VP Dental Clinic in เทศบาลนครเชียงใหม่, Chiang Mai. (That was Thai text, in case your device didn’t show the characters correctly)

For little more than the cost of a few coffees (600 Bhat), Dr Jirawit Inthayat poked and prodded at my teeth with the assistance of dental technician, Arisa Jantaboon. There wasn’t the usual banter one might have with the dentist – “So, are you going anywhere nice on vacation?” “How’s work going?” “What about the game the other night?” – None of that. The language barrier halted any chatter before it began.

While some people might be nervous about going to a dentist in a place far away, everything checked out well and the experience was probably much the same as the dental experience you might have at home. In fact, Thailand has become something of a dental hotspot for people flying in to get work done much cheaper than they could in their own countries.

After the treatment I used sign language to ask the dental duo if they would mind me taking their picture. They said yes, I think, and I’m sure that under their face-mask they were smiling.

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Stand outside where this picture was taken using Google street view.

366 is coming to an end very soon, so please Like 366 Pictures on Facebook. It’s just nice for me to know there are people out there who enjoy the work I put into this project!