Greetings, loyal readers. Today is July 28, 2016. It’s a Thursday, and I’m a wee bit stressed. Thankfully, the source of the stress is what I call a “First World problem,” and it basically has to do with deciding on what kind of scooter to buy – a Honda Beat or a Honda Click.
Ah, decisions, decisions, decisions…..
Before I address that in a later post, I’d like to relate a few stories that arose out of a visit to a local dentist’s office. Both stories come out of that – the first concerns the actual dental procedure itself and the second has to do with nearly punching a fellow American in the head over repeatedly referring to a certain “nigger in the White House.” Now, if he had gone with “bastard” instead of dropping the N-bomb, it wouldn’t have been an issue. But as it was….
But anyhoo – I will tell that latter story in the next post. For now, let’s just go to the dentist!

Smoking Stains
As many of you already know, Your’s Truly is a smoker. Or – as some of our subscribers have noted – a dirty, filthy smoker. Yes, it’s true: Despite working out and trying to eat right, I am still devoted member to that sorely oppressed (“What? No smoking areas??”) minority group whose numbers are dwindling with each passing year. (Cancer and emphysema seem to have that effect.) I am also a dedicated coffee-whore, routinely downing about 7 to 8 cups per day. Add in some tea (green and peppermint) and sum total makes for some truly disgusting teeth stains. So bad, in fact, that I was starting to notice them in my videos – particularly on my lower teeth.
Yuck!
Thankfully, dental services in the Philippines are pretty cheap. My dentist here in Dumaguete is Dr. Myrine Garupa, a tireless professional who was recommended to me years back by other foreigners. She had already done teeth cleaning on me in September of 2014, and I was very happy with the results. I even did a video on it, so if you are totally bored out of your mind and/or want to see what a dentist office looks like in the Philippines, check out the video:
I swung by Dr. Garupa’s office Monday morning. The attentive, hospital-masked woman working the desk (a dental trainee, methinks) checked the schedule for a cleaning appointment and was able to get me in that afternoon. Cool beans. Dr. Garupa was – as always – very patient with her wimpy client (that’s me – I have very sensitive teeth….”) and wasted little time before getting to work with her industrial-strength Waterpick. I only jumped a few times as she hit some of those aforementioned sensitive areas and after about a half hour, I was done. From nasty stains to shimmery white in less than 60 minutes! I had complained about tooth pain in a rear molar after the cleaning, so the good doctor hustled me off into the X-ray room and had a full panoramic scan taken of my chompers. She then brought it up on her computer display and noted that the molar in question looked infected and would probably require a root canal.
Oh, joy – all I think of when I hear “root canal” is the sarcastic why things are compared to being “more fun than a root canal!” Yipee! But like I always say – it’s nice to have things to look forward to. Right now, the pain isn’t so bad – it just flared up the other day when I bit into a chicken bone. The real problem lies in the fact that when it does flare up, I can no longer enjoy the starchy goodness of a certain locally produced chill beverage. And that is simply unacceptable!!
The cost of the tooth cleaning/polish was a very reasonable $15 USD. The X-ray that revealed the infected molar was another twenty bucks. And as for the cost of the root canal, Dr. Garupa said that it would be around 5,000 pesos per root, and since a molar has three roots, it will be around 15,000 p/ $340 USD. If the tooth can’t be saved, she will have to extract it, and since that’s my main chewing side, I will have to get an implant which will cost around 30,000 pesos/ $640.
So keep your fingers crossed – hopefully, the root canal will be enough to take care of the situation.
Philippine Dreams gives Dr. Garupa five stars!
Their clinic is located at #54 Dr. V. Locsin Street, Dumaguete City.
You can get more information at their office Facebook page by CLICKING HERE.

Man thats dazzling, I need to wear sunny’s to see your smile.
Hey Ned, I thought Henry had a Honda Beat, its not new now but may be he can give you a heads up about any problems he has had with his and the cost / frequency of repairs.
Very informative blog. Looking forward to seeing your decision process on Honda Beat vs. Click…looking at buying a Click and would be very interested in your observations.
After a week, I probably should have gotten the Beat – I like the lower center of gravity and lower seat height. The Click is sweet, though, and I am going to keep it. I will do a more thorough breakdown in a future video.
Hey Ned, thought you might be interested in this, scroll down for the part of interest:
http://www.filippijnen.org/index.php?topic=4707.22720
The writer seems to be just the slightest bit misinformed. I myself was the one who recommended the Yourcaring site. I had to keep reminding them until it was finally put up. I knew the couple personally, and what that forum poster was inferring is yet another example of expat chismis (gossip) that is another issue I dislike. If you don’t know all the facts, don’t be making innuendos. Banana Creek seems to be a bit of a douche. Thanks, Lance.
My wife and I just moved to dumaguete this week from loganville georgia. Have followed your blog. Thanks for all the good info. I have been looking for Brazilian jiu jitsu . know of any place. We live in Santo Rosario Heights subdivision off of Jose Romero road. Hoping this meets you in great health and spirit. Bill & Girly Long.
Hi Bill. Welcome to Dumaguete. You might want to talk to the guys at World Fitness Gym in the Portal West building. They should know dudes. There is also an MMA gym in Daro.
Ha , found it Ned so will copy and paste to give my drummer friend a heads up , regards Robert.