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."