A day in the life of an oral surgeon

A day in the life of an oral surgeon

Dr. Nunung Pattiasina, 53, has spent many years caring for the teeth of the capital, a career, she says, that has provided great interest, and a good living, for her. Married to fellow dentist Pieter Ismail, they live in Ciputat, South Jakarta with three of their four children. She shared her story in conversation with The Jakarta Post's contributor William Furney.

JAKARTA (JP): "Like millions of other Indonesians, I get up each morning at 5 a.m. to say the subuh (morning Islamic prayer). Once I'm finished, it's time to get the kids out of bed. I get annoyed with them because they won't even get up to say the subuh. I call them, and they just respond with, 'yeah, yeah'. But what can I do? They're no longer small children.

I'll help tidy up the house, and then it's time for breakfast. I don't have what you'd call a traditional Indonesian breakfast of rice and vegetables; I have cereal and bread. I find that traditional food at that hour gives me a stomachache.

I drop off the youngest to university en route to the office; she's studying psychology. As for me, I have many clinics around the city, including at MMC (Metropolitan Medical Center), RSCM (Cipto Mangunkusomo General Hospital) and Proklomasi Hospital. But I'm also a lecturer in oral surgery at the Dental School of the University of Indonesia (UI), and that's usually where I start my day.

I remember years ago wanting to be a doctor, but not making the grade. My second choice was dentistry, and, in the long run, I'm glad I chose this career. It's been very rewarding and I love it. You might wonder if it's a tough task to stare into mouths all day and sometimes put up with halitosis, but I don't notice any of those things. It's exciting to see the results of procedures immediately.

There are lots of patients every day -- the majority of whom are at RSCM. Because it's a state hospital, the charges are much lower than usual. That's why most of my patients go there. In any one day, I could have up to 50 patients.

Of course, many people are afraid to come to me because I'm a dentist. There is a great fear there, and people often turn up when they can no longer bear the pain and they have no choice but to have treatment. I'm not sure where the fear stems from; it could be the sight of the equipment, the drills and so on. With patients who are very scared, I have to explain to them how important it is to treat the teeth, not only for the cosmetic value but also for the function of the teeth. Small kids usually cry and men are the worst when it comes to adults. They say they are so frightened of the dentist and have put off their visit for a long time. When they can no longer stand the pain, they come to me. In some cases, I'll give gas to relax them.

I deal with a lot of people who have been in accidents, and their jaws might be broken and need to be rewired. Other cases involve tumors in the gums that have to be removed by me. I enjoy working in the operating theater.

Some patients have to have all their teeth removed, especially elderly people. Afterward, they'll need a complete set of false teeth made up. Then there are some who want cosmetic surgery, which may include capping the teeth and the like. It's not cheap.

I think the level of dentistry in this country is quite good, and, on the whole, people here care about their teeth. But, having said that, there are many millions of people in the villages who have never seen a dentist -- purely because there are none. So, you tend to see old people who have had teeth problems for years chewing on betel nut to ease the pain.

It's possible to make a good living from dentistry, but nowadays the cost of the equipment, drugs and other items is very high, as most of it has to be imported.

I finish work at 7 p.m. and drive home very tired. I go straight to the bathroom to wash and then I pray. I'll have some kind of Indonesian food and sometimes I'll discuss dental problems with Pieter, which can be boring for the children if they are around.

One thing I love to do more than anything is walking. I used to love going to Puncak in West Java, but now the roads are too jammed and it's too difficult to get there. I go abroad frequently, to places like Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and Australia. We used to have a house in Melbourne, which we bought for the kids when they were studying there. But they've finished in Australia and we've sold it. I've got family in Germany and the Netherlands. I love Europe. I also travel abroad for seminars and congresses.

Bedtime is about 10 p.m., when my thoughts are of the next day's patients."