Not all fun

One advantage (?) of coming to New Zealand for a long stretch of time is that the children get to experience a really large range of things. Unfortunately these are not always fun.... This week my daughter had to go and see the "dental therapist" and get her first filling. Fortunately the dental therapist was really nice and fitted her with sunglasses, showed her exactly what he was doing, gave her a mirror to hold (she was in heaven!) and flashed his lovely smile at her while praising her ability to keep her mouth open. Hopefully she is now looking forward to her next visit next week!
Although dental work in Japan is covered for both children and adults by insurance they do not have a dental clinic system like they do in New Zealand. There are sometimes dental checks at school and kindergarten, but if there are any problems then it is up to the parent to decide if they want to follow it up and find their own dentist etc. Despite the dental therapist here not being a fully qualified dentist I was impressed by his enthusiasm and explanations and having the appointment made for us made life easier. I guess both systems have their advantages!