We’ve been very fortunate on our trips and needed very few unexpected medical treatments. I had an appointment for earache in my late teens, and a few pharmacy visits for lotions and potions, but never anything too bad.
While waiting to leave Robben Island we thought it would be nice to stop and enjoy an ice cream near the dock. There wasn’t much interesting or special about the ice cream, but sadly for Tarnya a bite of hers caused one of her molars to break in two where a filling once sat. Thankfully this didn’t cause too much immediate pain, but was obviously a major cause of concern and we needed some treatment before it started to cause any problems. Unfortunately for us, we had such a tight itinerary, with a new location almost every day, and we were planning to drive to Franschoek the following day so it was imperative we found somewhere now or risked missing a key part of our itinerary off.
However, being late in the afternoon and not exactly familiar with medical procedures in South Africa, it was extremely challenging, no, let’s say nigh on impossible, to find a dentist who would accommodate us before our onward travel to Franschoek. I contacted over a dozen dental practices before I managed to find one who would be able to see Tarnya that night. Their surgery was around 40 minutes from where we were staying in Cape Town, but it looked like it was in a relatively well connected, and safe, location.
We mentioned the issue to the hotel, and the receptionist asked endless questions about it before they would let us leave. They kept insisting we go to the nearby hospital (closed) or a more local dentist (either didn’t answer, wouldn’t be able to see her for a few days or didn’t accept foreigners). After 20 minutes of discussion where they both insisted is was safe, but also that it would be better to see a dentist in the daytime tomorrow, they spoke directly to the dentist through WhatsApp and then finally agreed to let us go on our merry way.
The drive to the dentist was a little nerve-racking, it’s hard not to think about all the horror stories you hear about in South Africa, and driving down dark quiet roads near townships we were quite scared. We arrived on the opposite side of the road to the practice, and I pulled into a petrol station to park. The practice was pitch black and there was no sign of life so we waiting in the car and messaged the dentist to say we had arrived. A few moments later they pulled into a parking spot and started to open their practise.
There was an attendant in the station forecourt so I greeted them and checked that it was OK to leave the car parked there, then we both headed over the road to meet the dentist.
The dentist had just finished his dinner, and funnily, but somewhat worryingly we could smell it on him. He was super friendly, albeit seemed a little concerned about getting the door secure, but we felt pretty committed at this point and given the difficulty finding a dentist who would treat Tarnya… into the chair Tarnya went. This dentist did not mess around, a full checkup and X-ray were completed in a few minutes and the bad news that a root canal was necessary was somewhat delicately delivered.
He worked on Tarnya for a couple of hours and managed to implant a screw ready for a cap, and place a temporary filling good enough to last for a couple of months, which should see us through the trip and give plenty of time for a UK dentist to complete the work, even with the ridiculous appointment times we are subject to at home. Tarnya doesn’t remember an awful lot about her appointment, apparently the drugs they give you in South Africa are significantly stronger than home, causing her to have an out of body experience and to feel high!
Amazingly the dental work had no detrimental affect to the rest of the trip, other than a tiny bit of stress and missed sleep of course.
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