No less than six hours after arriving in Sydney, the husband realized that the bag of orthodontic rubber bands he packed was nearly empty. (For those who have never had the pleasure of wearing braces, one can easily burn through 8 - 10 of these daily.) Going without wearing them for an entire week was not an option: it would simply prolong the tedious process of adult braces. We decided to scope out an orthodontist in the Sydney area.
The concierge at our hotel gave us a name of a dentist about eight blocks from our hotel. I must confess I was none too happy spending the first day of my vacation marching the beautiful metropolitan area searching for some mother blooming rubber bands. After a few wrong turns and 40 minutes later we walked into a dental office Down Under. Not where I expected to be on my first day in Australia. We waited, myself very unpatiently, only to find that they did have what we needed. We probed them for an alternative and were sent several blocks further south to Todays Dental.
We trudged into their office and waited for some help. The receptionist was a bit confused as to what we needed: obviously this was not a typical request. Initially we were told we would need to see the doctor. I groaned inwardly, calculating the cost of this misstep. About ten minutes later Dr. Theresa Lee greeted us: an irritable wife and her long-suffering husband. We again explained the situation. She asked my husband several questions and briefly looked at his appliance. She smiled and said she would be back shortly. I figured she's thanking the dental gods for the extra ka-ching these two hapless Americans would be bringing.
She returned moments later with a bag of the coveted rubber bands. She informed us that they are slightly different than what he had been using; explaining the differences. She handed us her business card and told us that if we have any questions or problems while in Sydney to contact her. She would be "happy to help." No charge. No fee. No hassle.
Phew!
Thank you, Dr. Lee, for helping us out. You certainly saved our vacation and might have just even saved our marriage! read more