Dental Work and a Fixed Bed

One thing we haven't quite figured out during the last 2 1/2 years of full-timing is getting regular checkups on our teeth.  We have looked a few places but $75 or $100 to get our teeth cleaned just doesn't appeal to me.

Shortly after we started full-timing we were in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas along the border of Mexico and we went to Nuevo Progresso, Mexico.  We both got our teeth cleaned for about $25.  But that was two years ago when it was relatively safe.

So we have put off teeth work.  Back when we had our house and I had a full time job we got our teeth worked on at least yearly.

Our daughter Kelly knew we were coming to the Virginia Beach area and saw a Groupon advertisement for a Mahanes Dentistry in Virginia Beach.  -Really?  a Groupon ad for a dentist?

It advertised a dental checkup, x-rays and teeth cleaning for $49.   Sounded like my kind of deal.  So we scheduled an appointment and arrived on Wednesday.

We were seen promptly and I was very impressed.  Renee, the dental hygienist explained how she wanted me to bite for the x-rays and I watched them appear one at a time on the monitor as I sat in the dentist chair.

She also poked around and checked out old fillings and new areas for some work.  When the dentist came in they pointed to the teeth in question and wrote up some notes.

Again I could see exactly what they were talking about.  It was my first experience with monitors mounted on the wall for patients to see notes, x-rays and charts.

My cleaning went fine.  Just for old times sake I was admonished to floss more.  Unlike Pam, I only occasionally floss.  She had periodontal disease years ago and flosses daily.  As a result her gums and teeth are in great shape.

So we were very impressed with the dentist and the treatment.  So we will be back.

How about you?  What do you do for dental work?  If you are Full-timers or extended-timers, do you have a new dental situation for when you are on the road?

On a different subject..., we replaced the controllers for our Select Comfort bed.
Over the past few months we noticed the digital readouts on both controllers were going bad.  Then finally about 6 weeks ago, we lost the readout all together.

I called Select-Comfort and they wanted $300 for a new unit to fix the bed.  Yikes!  I didn't like that number….

While we were back at the factory in Red Bay, Alabama last month, we went to the old parts store and found a couple of used controllers.  We got the circuit boards from each one and we were all fixed up!  Total cost: $ 25 each.

That solution worked fine for about 6 weeks.  But,,,,then we had no display in either controller.  Those controllers went bad.  This time I asked about the warranty when I called Select Comfort and the replacement cost went down to $105.  They prorated what was left on the warranty.

So we ordered a new unit and a single wireless controller.  They no longer make one for each side of the bed.

The package arrived last week and we did the installation.

We had to plug up the mattress while we unhooked everything. Then we removed the mattress so we could get to the bed frame.

The bed sits on a frame that folds in the middle.  It is secured with six screws underneath the top of the mattress.  The bottom half of the platform is over the storage area.  We removed the arms that hold the bottom end of the bed platform up over our storage area and then removed the entire platform.

Then we unhooked hoses and changed out the power unit that was plugged in underneath the top half of the bed.

The new unit is a little smaller than the old one so it fit well into the space.  Once we double checked the air hoses and power unit, Pam screwed down the bed platform again.  (you can tell here who is doing the work and who is doing the videography….)

The new unit works like a champ and we are happy campers so to speak.

The new unit has a left and right button and the two unit version is replaced with the single controller.  As per the directions we pumped up both sides to 100, then backed it down to 40 and 45.  Then we put the mattress back in place and we were done!

I was wondering, what kind of bed do you have in your RV?

Two more things taken care of this week, now on to the next project…

That is it for this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Thanks for joining us and until next time...