The older you get the more time - and money - you have to spend on your teeth.

I've been going to the dentist several times a week since we arrived. I'm getting some crowns and a bridge replaced. I decided to get the teeth I have whitened before they picked the color for the crowns. Today I had a deep cleaning and laser whitening. I had gotten lax and hadn't gotten them cleaned in over a year and it was painful and long. They have a bunch of cool tools one of which is a little camera about the size of a pencil that they put inside your mouth and the back side of your teeth show up on a monitor angled in front of you. Yes, I could see all the plaque but it didn't make it feel any better watching it get removed. Tonight, my gums hurt, my jaw hurts and the roots on the teeth are still complaining about the piece of metal that was inside my gums messing with them.

The whitening process was long but not painful other than having a huge grin extender in my mouth for so long. They paint something on the teeth, use some kind of laser light on it and repeat. They put special glasses on me and on themselves as well and told me to keep my eyes closed. My teeth are a lot whiter, the dentist said I went two shades lighter for the crowns. The deep cleaning and laser whitening cost $3000 pesos (about $275 US) but I have no idea what it would cost in the US. I do feel I got as good or better treatment as I would have gotten up there.

I'm taking some pain killers and going to bed.