Young people laugh at dentures, but for older folks, it’s “nothing to laugh about,” lol. Statistically speaking, they might even be more common than toupees. Also, people usually say “prosthetic teeth” rather than “dentures.”
It’s probably best to avoid staying overnight in the first place, but if you agree to it as a way of deepening the relationship, I guess you’d just have to keep it hidden somehow. Take them out before bed, then try not to open your mouth again, lol. Overnight stays already come with plenty of issues—going makeup-free, sleep habits, talking in your sleep, and so on—so maybe there’s no need to add dentures to the list.
By the way, dentistry is a technical profession, so I think the quality is mostly determined by three things: 1) whether they can use expensive, high-performance equipment, 2) whether they handle enough cases to build experience, and 3) whether they have talented, younger staff who can absorb that knowledge. Simply put, the little neighborhood dental office run by one elderly dentist is probably risky, while a clinic with younger dentists is likely a better choice. Even better, I think a clinic with several dentists is preferable to a solo practice, since it has more room for investment in equipment. I also think locations in business districts are better than residential areas—in other words, places where there are likely to be plenty of high-income office workers, such as areas with lots of finance companies or other well-paying businesses. When you go in for an initial examination, you can sometimes see an obvious difference in the resolution of the X-rays.
After that, I’d probably screen them based on whether their business philosophy is all about money. If they recommend expensive add-ons costing ¥40,000 or ¥50,000—like whitening during a routine plaque-removal cleaning—and then say, “Huh? Everyone gets it, you know? lol” when you decline, that’s an immediate deal-breaker. If you don’t blindly assume that “doctors are amazing” and instead look at things calmly from a business perspective, it’s actually pretty easy to spot.
There’s naturally an information gap between patients and doctors, but I don’t think they should exploit that gap as a business model. Taking down doctors like that might even be considered a matter of social justice. I once told a clinic director, loudly enough for the dental assistants around us to hear, “What you’re doing is basically the same as running a rip-off bar.” I wanted the assistants to realize what was going on.
What were we even talking about?? lol
Taro
It may depend on the size of the dentures.
If you’re only missing a few teeth, I don’t think it would be noticeable, but if you have full dentures or something close to that, he might be surprised. Whether he decides not to pursue the relationship will depend on how the papa (a male supporter) feels.
If, after telling him, he offers to help cover your dental treatment, that would be lucky♪
If you’re having trouble finding a dentist, the Japanese Society of Oral Implantology lists certified specialists on its website, so you may want to use it as a reference.
You can simply say that overnight stays aren’t possible for you.
For example:
- Your parents won’t allow it.
- Something came up that day that you absolutely can’t miss.
- You can’t take two days off work.
Once you agree to it even once, it can become the default and you may end up having to go along with it repeatedly, so be careful.
Yeah, it’s fine. If something like that is enough to end the relationship, just laugh and say, “What a petty little man!”
There are countless reasons to turn down an overnight stay, aren’t there? You could say, “You snore so loudly… I’d feel bad if you couldn’t sleep.”
You can wait a little longer before coming clean about the dentures, though.
