My wife needs to have a tooth filled. I tried to solve that problem at my workplace, but it turned out to be impossible due to the lack of all kinds of resources for such a simple procedure. We’re talking about a public hospital, and in Cuba private medicine doesn’t exist—except in dentistry, where in recent years they’ve authorized certain activities, mostly cosmetic, but secretly all kinds of dental procedures are performed.
As if dental health were only a matter of aesthetics. Anyway, that’s the option my wife and I are considering to relieve her toothache. The problem is that the fee is a bit excessive for a procedure that could be considered urgent. A toothache is anything but pleasant. No pain is, but some are more unbearable than others.
The truth is that to pay for such a simple procedure, a doctor’s basic monthly salary wouldn’t be enough, so the pain has to wait a few months before being eradicated. I don’t like that at all. I understand that dentists who have ventured into this business need to bill to keep their clinics running and to make a living too, but I think the price could be adjusted a bit for such sensitive procedures.
Perhaps with others like dental prostheses and those related to aesthetics they can get creative with super prices. But forgetting about toothaches—or rather about those who suffer them—seems extremely inhumane to me. And I don’t say this just because I’m involved in this situation now, but because I’ve been working for a long time relieving pain completely free of charge.
I’ve probably treated several relatives of those dentists, and the only thing I’ve received has been the patients’ gratitude. That’s what I graduated for, that’s what I chose. In this society we live in, we’ve gotten used to treating health problems free of charge.
Now that charging for medicine seems to be becoming legal, there should be a careful review of how to charge between elective and urgent procedures. I wouldn’t feel comfortable charging a patient whose life is hanging by a thread and who, for not having the exact money, turns to dust again.
So now it’s time to manage the family finances to help my dear wife. Hive will be one of the tools to achieve this. When everything is resolved, I’ll remind her again and again that skipping tooth brushing comes at a very high cost.
English isn't my native language. Text translated with DeepL
