瑕不掩瑜 Magnificent Yet Slightly Flawed

光華牙醫路醫師

地址： 333桃園市龜山區萬壽路二段967號

看診預約電話號碼： 03 329 5542

 

 

“Many people here never bring their toothbrushes overseas while staying at the airport…” Dr. Lu said. Upon hearing these words, I never knew I would have to work at another city based on some serendipity, fate, destiny and every single element known or unknown to me combined. Under the tortoise-color fringes of sky currently illuminating the almost-rounded moon, I wonder how bizarre my life can sing her own melodies covered through generations and age gaps, linking me back to my childhood where I grew up with my maternal grandparents in an area boasting farmland, geese, bamboo forests, many peers with whom I played along while grandma fed me with constant treats such as chewing gum, candy bars and so on, up to the moments visits to dentists, a variety of them, females, males, young, old, single and pregnant alike, are more than frequent. Never would I anticipate that I would be back to the same place where I was a little girl, not even school-aged; seeing all the constructions in the same city, I miss those prose-like landscapes boasting and cradling all of us growing up—secretly I wish the land in Africa where I have served can remain the same, though progress has doubtlessly soaked in, with my African Mama told me years back that when she just got married there, elephants and hyenas were all around. Nowadays, when these animals want to be seen, a visit to the more bushy, mountainous areas can be a must—urban sprawl has been prevalent. Likewise, dentists, in my own homeland, Taiwan, have their different fates. I heard that in the past, when a person studied dentistry, this person is not regarded as a “proper physician.” Social ladder put them behind all these other physicians treating people various problems. Today, however, with dental clinics almost everywhere, particularly on every street of major cities of Taiwan, dentists work on different issues patients would like to be handled. Yes, we go through different phases of life, and as I have focused relentlessly on my voluntarily humanitarian efforts, believing in the values of being altruistic, I never forget not all actions of loving kindness comes easy. People like Dr. Lu obviously chooses walking upon a very different path, a path that moves me so much that I simply have to write a piece about him, whether he knows it or not. I remember the moment when Dr. Lu told me about his dental association focusing on helping the needed, and I tend to imagine that when a few of our dentists are willing to voluntarily visit somewhere as far as east Africa, what can be happening there when they treat those villages deep in the mountains where they live side by side with elephants. Will there be enough tools for these dentists to work on these people who may also suffer from their oral issues? How do these people get treated when there are problems with their teeth? I would wonder when I am writing this piece of work…   

 

 

「這兒的人出國留宿機場時，大多從不隨身攜帶牙刷……」路醫師這番話，像是一粒投入池心的石子。聞言之時，我尚不知自己竟會因著某些奇緣、宿命、定數，以及種種已知或未知的因緣交織，而輾轉遷徙至另一座城市工作。

 

在玳瑁色的天際邊緣，月亮近乎盈滿，清輝遍灑。我不禁沉思，生命竟能唱出如此瑰麗而奇異的旋律，迴盪在世代與年歲的溝壑之間，將我拉回那段與外祖父母共度的童年。記憶中的那個眷村附近有著大片農田、鵝群與翠竹林；那時有無數玩伴相隨，而姥姥總在疼愛有嘉的情況之下塞給我嚼不完的口香糖、零食、與糖果——或許正因如此，後來頻繁進出牙科診所成了我生活的常態，尤其因著我的工作之故而常常來到不同地點，而使我見過形形色色的醫師：女性、男性、年長的、青澀的、單身的，甚或是身懷六甲者。尤其父母曾經讓我做過矯正的動作，那種上牙醫診所的頻繁狀況更是令人慘不忍睹，直到成年之後自己再去了解所謂矯正，是必須常常定期回診、定期調度各個牙的位置，否則，一如沒有矯正過，然而，我不記得自己的父母和我本身，當年有被告知這樣的細節……

 

 

一如大部份和我學習英語的老、中、青三代人士，身上都褙負著關於英語學習上面的沉重枷鎖般，仔細想想，我和「牙」這件事，還真的有說不清的「結」，甚至在南陽街教導學生們力拼國外學位的時期，我還遇過可以進牙醫系，但「打死不從」的、當時的大學生。問及為什麼時，這位學生講：

「為什麼我要為了我媽的願望，把自己困在32顆牙的世界裡面一輩子?! 我從南部逃到北部來就學，就是要避開她對我的管轄權；現在我一定要申請出國繼續雙主修，離開台灣!!!」

 

 

這樣講起來，路醫師的家學淵源，又待如何呢? 他究竟是和我的姥爺、姥姥他們那一個世代相當，還是與我的阿姨、舅舅們相當呢?

 

這樣想著想著，愈來愈多的「牙事兒」從記憶裡面流瀉出來，像月光揮灑著大地的筆觸一般。例如，我曾經來到某個著名醫療院所，補完牙後離開時，發現醫師根本「治錯」了牙，補的東西鑲在不該鑲的地方；更讓我訝異的還不只這一椿，於大學教課時，就在學校的教學診間裡面，牙醫主任告訴我我的牙如何如何、又該如何如何、療程該有多長多長、費用該有多高多高……到路醫生的診間之後，這些事情，全部一筆勾銷似的，連大學時代所製作的牙套被他看出「有問題」後，全部重來一次，所花的費用只是當時大學生時代所花費的不到三分之一……

 

終歸，繼一番因緣際會而重回台北市的精華地段、也是我的少女時期成長之處教書後，我從未預料到，自己竟會又被另一股拉力推著我般，而重返這片當時我尚在稚齡、未及入學時所待過的土地，一個將「縣」合併到「市」，廣大卻又有著不知幾百條彎彎曲曲的道路的城市。望著整座城市目前四處林立的建築工事，我不禁懷念起那些如散文詩般、曾溫柔搖曳並孕育我們成長的原野景致。我私自期盼著、更默默祈願著，那片我所服務的非洲大地能永保原樣，儘管文明的進程已然不容置疑地逐步滲透其中。記得多年前，我的「非洲媽媽」曾對我說，當她初嫁之時，象群與鬣狗尚在其與孩子們所居住的屋宇周遭出沒；而今若想尋訪這些野生動物，則必須深入草莽山林——她已成年、成家的孩子們，那些呼喊我為他們的姊妹的當地社會中堅份子，現在所居住的地點，固然是當時非洲媽媽和其夫所以欣欣向榮的偌大土地，然而，人類的勢力早已在那塊原本質樸原始的土地悄悄蔓延，才沒有幾年，連他們土地四週之外的山坡地上，都建滿了屋宇：在非洲，在人口不斷增長、移動的情況下，都市擴張的腳步已然無所不在。

 

同樣地，在我家鄉台灣，牙醫師們也經歷著命運的更迭。聽聞少數前輩說過，往昔，習牙的醫者並不被視為「正統的醫師」，均為醫師的情況下，在社會階級裡面的地位，牙醫總排在治療各類沉痾的內外科醫師之後。然而物換星移，今時今日牙科診所幾乎遍地開花，在台灣各大城市的街頭巷尾間隨處可見，沒有人會覺得牙醫弱於其他任何一種醫師。

 

是的，我們穿梭於人生的不同階段。當我全神貫注於志願人道援助、奉行利他主義的價值時，我始終記得：並非所有的善行慈悲皆能輕易達成。像路醫師這樣的人，顯然選擇了一條迥異的蹊徑，其志業令我如此感佩，以至於無論他知曉與否，我都必須為他留下些許文字。

 

我仍記得路醫師提起某個牙醫公會致力於救助貧弱的時刻。我不禁遙想，當我們少數的牙醫師前輩、平輩、晚輩，甘願遠赴東非之遙，在那些與象群共生的深山部落裡行醫時，那裡的村民和村落間，會發生怎樣的撼動感？

 

而我在選擇於最早的時期單槍匹馬進入這種人均一日一美元可能都不到的落後社區後，所進行的種種包括經濟面、教育面、衛教面等等的討論與提升等工作項目之際，除曾由台灣唸讀醫學院但非牙醫學系本科學生，在面對那些村民施行衛教時，分享過較為正確的口腔保健知識，但真正與我們同樣深受口腔疾患之苦的村民，除可能並無牙醫看診外，其診療器械是否完備？

 

當牙痛要人命之際，這些落後地區的村民們，又是如何尋求醫治之法？

 

當台灣在近幾十年都仍有牙醫在少數縣市，「力勸」年長人士「多多拔牙」時，那是否和在非洲地帶的人士所面臨的，正巧相仿?

 

在撰寫這篇作品的當下，種種思緒，仍在我心頭低迴不去。

 

 

 

 

 

A  牙醫路醫師的靜默史詩

Dentist Dr. Lu’s Serenely Placid Epic

 

 

在桃園，一個臨近過去我曾經教授的大學殿堂附近，座落著「光華牙醫」。在這所牙醫的診間裡，時間似乎以另一種節奏流動。這裡沒有閃耀炫爛的儀器，也不標榜昂貴華麗的療程；然而，在這簡樸而略顯陳舊的空間中，卻蘊藏著一段長達四十餘年的專業生涯的動人敘事。這段敘事的主角，是人們口中的路醫師——一位以自己的身體為代價，解除他人牙疼困擾的醫者。

 

On the outskirts of a northern Taiwanese city in Taoyuan where I used to teach at a university, time seems to move with a different rhythm. Within the modest clinic of Guanghua Dental Clinic, there are no dazzling displays of advanced technological machineries, no emphasis on luxurious procedures, yet at this unassuming space a professional career with that of narrative glimpse spanning more than four decades resides. At its center, Dr. Lu portrays the entire masterpiece. He is a man who has traded his own health, the bones and spine of his which are deteriorating upon the many patients he has worked upon, for the relief of others’ pain, particularly their dental affairs.

 

 

 

 

 

B 麥穗低語的慈祥

The Benevolent Graceful Whispers From That Ear of Wheat

 

長年俯身於診療椅旁，路醫師的脊椎逐漸彎曲，像一棵在風中堅持生長的老樹。疼痛並未使他停下腳步，反而成為他日常的一部分——如呼吸般自然，卻又難以忽視。他所選擇的，是最樸實的醫療：補牙、止痛、清理感染，而非矯正、植牙或其他昂貴療程。

 

For decades, bending over dental chairs, Dr. Lu’s spine has curved like an old tree shaped by relentless winds.

 

“I did not dare asking you the other time when I was here. Now I understand why you were wearing that ‘iron steel’ at the moment.” After he told me about how none of his bones and spines are standing straight anymore, I gasped.

 

Pain did not halt him; instead, it became a constant companion—ordinary as breathing, yet impossible to ignore. His choice was simple dentistry: fillings, pain relief, infection control, rather than orthodontics, implants, or other lucrative procedures.

 

 

 

這樣的選擇，在市場導向的現代醫療體系中，幾乎顯得格格不入。然而，也正是在這種“格格不入”之中，他建立了一種近乎道德性的專業堅持——醫療，不應以華麗為目的，而應以減輕痛苦為本質。

 

Such choices appear almost out of place in a market-driven healthcare system. Yet within this very dissonance lies a moral conviction: medicine should not pursue glamour, but the alleviation of suffering.

 

 

 

 

C 認知上的鴻溝

The Cognitive Gaps

 

就像對於國人必須時常潔牙之事的上心與否的關注，路醫師曾輕聲對我提及，有些身為他這樣一位醫者的用心良苦，別人未必了解，尤其當人們沉浸在快速、華麗的解決方案當中，忽略著那些細緻且耗時的基本治療的當下。

 

 

「為什麼在您這裡洗牙，要花上老半天，但是在其他地方洗牙，醫師三兩下就結束了?」在雨中行中數小時之後終於抵達診間看診，我如此請教路醫師……

 

 

認知上的鴻溝造成行動上的不同。

而這種種不同，絕非任何領域所獨有。

 

 

“Why is it that at other dental clinics where I visited, those dentists spent about a few minutes cleansing my teeth, a procedure taking you a lot longer, as I have observed?” I asked Dr. Lu one day.

 

 

Apparently, some cognitive recognition divides our knowledge towards various issues, resulting varied actions taken, regardless of which professional fields we stand at.

He once told me quietly that some patients fail to understand his intentions. They seek quick, impressive solutions, overlooking the careful, time-consuming basics. This experience of being misunderstood is not unique to medicine.

 

 

在教育領域，我亦見過類似的鴻溝：年少的學生，在情緒與衝動之間徘徊，甚至以一記耳光對待同儕，彷彿世界的重量尚未降臨於他們的肩上。他們尚未理解行為的後果，也未能體會他人所付出的善意。一樣年少的學生，尊師有禮的背後卻有著父母不在身邊、為機構所收容的身世，既不張狂亦不自大，但英語能力尚在起步階段，所有的絛件都和那些紈褲子弟般的其平輩，迵然不同。人從牙牙學語到一口黃牙，到底經歷著什麼、到底成就著些什麼、又到底該如何是好?

 

In education, I have witnessed similar fractures: adolescents caught between impulse and emotion, sometimes striking peers as if consequences did not exist. They have yet to grasp the weight of their actions or recognize the goodwill extended to them. Peers of these people who are from affluent family backgrounds, speaking fluent English, can be inadequate in their linguistic fluency but extremely polite to anyone, from dis-functional families with both parents not present and would have to be adopted by the mid-way agencies… For humanity, when we began to grow teeth until the time we face our end when our teeth are faltering, what have we experienced, achieved, and what should we do about ourselves?

 

 

為何有人如路醫師般堅守誠信，而另一些人卻走向犯罪？這並非單一因素所能解釋，而是一種多層次的交織：家庭環境、社會條件、教育經驗，以及個體在關鍵時刻的選擇。

 

Why do some, like Dr. Lu, uphold integrity, while others descend into crime? The answer is not singular but layered: family environment, social conditions, education, and crucially, choices made at decisive moments.

 

 

從人工智慧的分析視角來看，人類行為可被理解為“條件與決策”的函數。誠信者往往在早期經驗中建立了穩定的價值框架，並在反覆的選擇中強化這些原則；而偏離者，可能在缺乏穩定支持的情境下，逐漸採取短期利益導向的決策模式。

 

From an AI perspective, human behavior can be viewed as a function of conditions and decisions. Those with integrity often develop stable value frameworks early on, reinforcing them through repeated choices. Those who deviate may lack consistent support, gradually adopting short-term, self-serving decision patterns.

 

 

然而，這並不意味著命運是預定的。即使在不利條件中，仍有人選擇正直；而在優渥環境中，也有人走向偏差。關鍵不在於環境本身，而在於個體如何回應環境。

 

Yet destiny is not fixed. Even in adversity, some choose integrity; in privilege, others falter. The decisive factor lies not in circumstance, but in response.

 

 

 

 

D 記憶與連結的種種

Aspects of Memories & Bonds

 

 

路醫師曾提及妻子在肯亞發現的食物種類，那段話語帶著溫柔的光，好像他負責養家活口，妻子則為他而到遠方去成為他靈魂的一面窗，讓他可以充滿想像空間。當我提起自己多次前往同一片大地，從事深度服務的工作時，我們的對話彷彿跨越了地理與文化的界線。

 

He once spoke fondly of foods his wife discovered in Kenya. His words carried such gentle warmth, seemingly to reveal that he as a bread-earner, and his wife that key initiator assisting him to look into matters of the soul. When I mentioned my own years of humanitarian service there, our conversation seemed to transcend scopes of geography and culture.

 

 

在那片土地上，資源匱乏卻人情濃厚；而在這間診所裡，設備簡單卻技藝深厚。兩者之間，存在著某種精神上的共鳴——對他人的關懷，並不依賴物質的豐富，而來自內心「良知」與「正直」這種人性光輝層次的選擇。

 

In that land of Africa, scarcity coexists with human warmth; in this clinic, simplicity coexists with mastery. Both share a spiritual resonance: care for others does not depend on material abundance, but on inner choice, an option made by one’s conscience and integrity.

 

 

 

 

 

E 技高群雄

Extremely Professional and Skillful

 

曾有一位資深牙醫，在觀察我的X光片後驚嘆道：

「妳的這位牙醫技術非常高超，我無法理解他是如何完成、從什麼角度完成這樣的課題，這個不是我能做得到的，實際上，我不認為其他我所認識的牙醫能夠做得的。」

 

這句話，無需華麗修辭，卻勝過千言萬語。

 

An experienced dentist once examined X-ray of my teeth and remarked,

“Whoever treated you is exceptionally skilled. I cannot imagine how that was done. Neither can I imagine many of my peers, other dentists, are able to do so.” No elaborate praise could surpass such a statement.

 

 

這種來自同行的認可，是最純粹的評價——它不涉及情感的偏頗，而是基於專業的判斷。

Such recognition from a peer is the purest form of evaluation—free from sentiment, grounded in expertise.

 

 

 

 

F

追尋真正的價值

True Values Sought

 

 

據此種種，即使距離遙遠，即使風雨交加，我仍選擇獨自駕車數小時前往他的診所。在那段路途上，恐懼與堅定並存——對安全的擔憂，與對專業的信任，環環相扣，不偏不倚。一如我對於弱勢人群的付出及選擇，如此堅定，即便有所躊躇。

Despite the long distance and pouring rain, I drove for hours to reach Dr. Lu’s clinic, similar to my roads to serving the needed. It’s only this time, I am the one to be served. Fear and determination coexisted—concern for my personal safety intertwined with that steady trust in his skill.

 

 

這樣的選擇，或許在效率至上的現代社會中顯得不合時宜。然而，它揭示了一個簡單而深刻的事實：真正的價值，往往無法被距離或時間所衡量。

Such a choice may seem impractical in an efficiency-driven world. Nonetheless, it reveals a simple truth: genuine values are far beyond the measurements of distance and/or time.

 

 

 

 

 

G     中國北方的遙遠回聲

Echoes from the Northern Part of China

 

路醫師來自中國北方，而我的祖先亦然，眼下，召喚我在這個城市服務、工作的力量，使得在此間的德高望重女性前輩，不但其先祖亦來自同一個區域，在其已經七老八十的狀況下，卻還令我為其買下到東非的來回機票，欲要在今夏與其一家老小前往非洲。

 

 

這些對我的召喚除了在我於眼見的服務工作之利他行止，得以增廣、加深之外，又有什麼其他的意涵呢?

 

 

不論如何，在這些看似完全不相干但卻又在真諦的面前隱隱約約若有似無的連結之中，我感受到一種難以言喻的親近感——彷彿在陌生的城市裡，找到一段清晰卻又熟悉的回聲。

 

He comes from northern China, as do my forefathers. Within this subtle connection, I sense an unspoken familiarity—as if discovering a distant echo in an unfamiliar city where I am summoned to arrive, to meet an elderly, much respected friend of mine who has requested me to purchase her return tickets to Kenya, with the expectations of her family members joining suit with me, for some service-oriented experiences there. All these, aside from making my humanitarian efforts to the individuals plus species worldwide more in-depth, what else are there waiting for me?

 

 

這種連結無形之中加深了我對於這個宇宙的信任與理解，我知道我要何時歌唱、跳舞、創造一個美工作，都可以是最美好的晶華，因為在醫療密度如此高的社會當中，我可以遇到像路醫師這樣技藝精湛如是的良醫，也因為我這種莫名奇妙對於生命的信念為我所開創的道途，從來沒有讓我極度失望、落魄潦倒過，反而一次又一次，像那看來幾乎漫不經心的梵音不絕於耳敲響我的性靈般，予我以滋養和溫潤。

 

This connection deepens my trust and understanding towards the universe I am positioned at, making me realize that for whatever song I would like to sing, dance I would like to step, and artistic craft I would like to create, all those pieces can be the ultimately most refined pieces based on my unbelievably faithful belief in roads I have chosen, those roads which always carry me alive, uplifted, even when the most daunting tasks have appeared, as if the nonchalantly devoted bells ring at temples where I find myself to be put into, purifying me from head to toe, up to the core of my soul.

 

 

 

 

 

結語：平凡中的偉大

Conclusion: Greatness Within the Ordinary

 

 

路醫師的故事，並非關於壯闊如山河般的成就，而是關於簡樸而永續的抉擇——選擇服務、選擇忍耐、選擇誠信。在這些看似平凡的抉擇之中，隱藏著真正的不同凡響，因為他的診間的平平凡凡，而造福的是更多的黎明百姓，那些如我的那位彬彬有禮卻沒有父母在成長過程中陪伴的學生，便是經由這樣的天使般的照護，而能成長、茁壯。在我於靠近路醫師診間的大學的服務期間，能夠透過令我所敬重的長輩而得知路醫師的醫德絕倫，並且就近看診，而造成日後不論我人在海外、在台灣的其他縣市，都要回到其診間的歷程，常常令我自己一而再、再而三省思自己的服務人群之路，或許百轉千迴而千迴百轉，但心存一絲善念，總有微微燈火近處遠處為我映照前路，使我不致迷途……

The story of Dr. Lu is not about grand achievements, but about austere, sustained options leading to virtues such as the essence of service, endurance, moral rectitude. Within these seemingly ordinary choices, Dr. Lu’s true greatness is illuminating his patients who cannot afford a lump sum of money for dental treatments; that student of mine who is quite polite, without his parents around, is able to face his growing up procedures more successfully due to angelic physicians like Dr. Lu. Quite honored, when I worked at a university near Dr. Lu’s clinic, I was referred to him by one of my much respected elderly; later, even when I was working overseas or at cities other than the northern part of Taiwan, I would return to him, again and again, to reflect upon my own roads of serving the others, which can be quite demanding and even frustrating from time to time. Nonetheless, with that flicker of kindness deep inside, I am aware there are lights ahead showing me the roads which cannot have fooled me to be lost.

 

 

 

而在醫療與教育等各個專業、在臺灣與肯亞之間，我們看見一條共同的線索：人類的價值，不在於擁有多少，而在於願意付出多少。

Across medicine, education and any other professional fields, across Taiwan and Kenya, a common thread emerges: human worth lies not in what one possesses, but in what one is willing to give and to share.

本文作者 Author of this work: Hope Wang

本文原始出處 Origin of this work:  https://morerayofhope.blogspot.com/