Today we woke up bright and early after going to bed late at about 2:30 a.m. We had already paid to have a taxi pick us up at 9 a.m. by the beachside hotel to take us to the dentist.

My wife Cindy had a spot on her teeth that she thought was a cavity in need of a filling. And Ismael had a tooth that he was pretty sure needed to be pulled completely.

We arrived at the dentist at about 9:30 in the morning. The dentist was a lady of Chinese descent, but born in Malaysia. She spoke English and Chinese, so communication wasn't a problem.

Cindy was first to go in. It took only a minute for the dentist to find the problem spot, decide that it needed to be filled, and to go ahead and give the numbing medicine. She then told Cindy to go wait in the lobby for just a few minutes.

Then Ismael went in. I think she took even less time to decide that his tooth did indeed need to be pulled. She also have him a shot to numb the area around the tooth, and told him to go wait.

Now it was Cindy's turn to go back in and get her cavity filled ... just like that. I think 15 minutes had passed since we arrived. She went on in and came out half and our later with the job all done. She said the dentist was great and there was no pain at all.

Now it was Ismael's turn. I went with Ismael because his English is very limited and he wanted me to tell the dentist that his mouth still felt normal ... not numb at all. He was scared because the last time he had a tooth pulled (in China!) it hurt like the dickens! She assured him that the tooth itself, and the surrounding gum, was numb and not to worry. He behaved well and within a minute the tooth was out. Ismael said it hurt but not at all like before.

And that was it. We were all done less than an hour after we arrived. The dentist came out and gave Ismael some pain medicine to take with him. Cindy was in the lobby giving Gabriel his milk. Then the dentist handed me the bill.

$38 dollars!!! Even I, who am used to things being inexpensive in China, was surprised at how cheap the fees were.

So what do I think about Malaysian dentistry? I am very impressed!