I parked at the Wash Ramp, as before once years ago. A father and daughter were there asking about how to get to the dental clinic.They had spent 15 min searching. I said I was going there. There was a walkway on 3rd level clearly marked as a route to the dental clinic. The double doors from the ramp were locked. No reason given. No sign. I called the posted UM security number. She had no clue as to why they were locked. I had tried pushing the red help buttons. No reply., I tried 3 of them. I asked her why the hell no one answered. She had no clue. So if you are ever about the raped in the Wash ramp, the red help buttons are just for show.
We finally found the basement tunnel thanks to a helpful UM cop/guard. I did not remember it going all the way to ramp. All the water fountains were taped off because covid.
I went in got X rays etc. I need at least two teeth pulled, one ASAP. My oncologist friend recommended U of MN dental clinic. I blame her for my 2+ hours being tortured. Just kidding. The covid nazis were in full force. You had to be there. Prove you have an appt. Because so many people sneak into the dentist to have fun. Fill out a questionnaire. They have some automagic camera to sense your temp. But it does not work with your mask on. So they tell you to lower your mask. Then the camera shrieks at you to put your mask on. When I tried to go up for my PM appt the covid security mall cop guy acted like he caught me in a lie to avoid his procedure. Eff him. The covid questionnaire reminded me of the first time I gave blood after AIDs came on the scene. They asked something like had I engaged in homosexual anal sex after some year. I said no, it was the year before that. I could not resist.
I was lucky that they fit me in around 130 PM. There was infection above one tooth. They took that out without much effort. The second one took maybe 90 min? The two dental students were at the end of their oral surgery rotation. Maybe one whole month! Three more senior dentists were in and out when requested and often when not. I like that feature. They checked off before and after different stages. I sensed they were concerned.
They ended up, after other attempts, grinding/cutting the tooth into three sections and pulled each section. The female student acted as the hygienist and the male as the dentist. They switch off. The female kept apologizing. Over and over. Apparently most go much smoother than mine? She should pretend it was all normal. U of MN is cheaper and they have very senior dentists on faculty so you don't rely on a single dentist outside who might suck.
They are they are in maybe 30 seconds from a button push.
The dental students were not a big problem before. A couple years ago, I initially had a dentist who returned to do a 20 month root canal specialty. He was half way through. That is all he did, all day, all week. He spotted a crack half way through and scheduled me for an extraction. When that came I had two women who were too gentle and the senior told them to be more brutal, not in those words. It went fine.
In summary, you are only one minute away from world class dental care, at a reasonable price.
After all this my oncologist friend said that she paid extra to get the faculty only dentists. I am cheap so I would not change.
If you ever have a difficult pet problem try the U of MN vet clinic. That is where she goes.I have used them.
