It's the principle, dammit!

Okay, I'm trying to be responsible by taking Charlotte to the dentist every six months even though her baby teeth are just going to fall out anyway.  For the last couple of years, her check-ups have happened during summer and winter breaks, so scheduling has been no problem at all.  (My check-ups are a different story.  I cancelled one a couple of years ago because it interfered with Zumba, and I haven't been back since.  It's cool, though; I floss.)

So I got a postcard in the mail yesterday informing me that her appointment is scheduled for January 31 at 8:30.  I don't like this business of them telling me when her appointment is; it's presumptuous.  But still, it had never been a problem in the past, so I let it go.  This time it wasn't going to work for me, though, so I called to reschedule.  I'm also trying to be a responsible employee, so I tried to get an appointment after school.  I know those are like hen's teeth, so I was prepared to wait for an appointment.  What I wasn't prepared for was the dumbest policy ever.


The woman on the phone told me that, due to Charlotte's age, I wasn't allowed to schedule an afterschool appointment.  Those are saved for older children, since their education is so important. So I told her that I'm a teacher, which means that a whole classroom full of older children will miss out on some top-quality educatin' if I have to take a half day for this appointment.  Won't someone please think of the children!  My brilliant logic failed to sway her, however, because she insisted on adhering to the policy. 

The upshot?  We're going to a new dentist who accomodates people's schedules.  I still didn't get an afterschool appointment--there weren't any of those until April.  So I'm still missing work, but at least it was my choice.