Days 9 and 10 6th and 7th clinic day

6th Clinic Day

Well, some days are busier than others. Today happens to be not a busy day. Four patients and I only treated two! One young lady had an upper wisdom tooth decayed below the gun line, long root, no bone loss, thin tuberosity, you don't want to know the details......I told her I couldn't remove the tooth, because.....I couldn't. That needs to see a specialist.....somewhere.

The other patient I turned away was around 10-12 years old. Note: If I haven't mentioned before, many, many people don't know their birthdate or their age. No one ever told them. So, we don't ask and just look at their teeth to get an idea. We assumed his age based on the number of baby teeth he still had in his mouth.

His upper left lateral incisor and canine were crowded and he wanted me to take his canine out. I said no, I would not, but I would remove his lateral incisor to allow the canine to come into place. (Maasai are notorious for not wanting crowded teeth). We argued, through Grace speaking Maasai, and he refused. If I wouldn't take out his canine, he was leaving. And he did. Oh, I asked if there was a parent outside, hah. Remember the 3-year old that came on a motorcycle the other day. These kids are independent!

So with not much happening in the clinic, here are a few pictures taken of the clinic.

This is the view from the front of the clinic to the gate. When busy, people are
relaxing in the shade waiting to be called

The front door of the clinic, plenty of waiting space here as well.

Side view. Our apartment is upstairs.

BONUS PHOTO BELOW. DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND A PHOTO OF THE 'RIVER ANTS'.

7^th Clinic Day

Back to normal today. 15 patients, 3 fillings and 13 extractions. One interesting case, hang in there with me…..As mentioned it is typical for the Maasai to have their two lower central incisors removed soon after they come in, say 6 or 7 years old. This is done in the village by an elder or witch doctor. (no anesthesia). It is a fashion statement, but it does help with crowding as the remaining teeth come in!

We had a 12-13-year-old girl come in today with both of her lower central incisors gone but both of her canines or eye-teeth were infected. She and her older brother wanted me to remove them. If so, she would be left with just two lower anterior teeth instead of six!

I refused to remove them, instead, I recommended they go to Narok to have root canals done so she could keep them, (for the rest of her life). She wasn’t happy, her brother wasn’t happy, he thought he would offer a compromise and suggested I take just one out. Nope. I did put her on antibiotics due to the infection and wished them the best.

Otherwise, a routine day, some pictures of the monkeys and bushbucks