I always find it easier to blog about my healthcare experiences vs travel experiences. I think I know why after my tooth extraction today. Healthcare experiences are short yet vivid, condensed and dramatic. Don’t get me wrong. I did receive care from a dentist in Parramatta but I still cannot believe I convinced myself to extract wisdom teeth.
I went to the dentist today with the mission to extract 2 of my teeth; 1 on
That was in 2013.
5 years passed. I don’t think they cause any problem. I have sensitive teeth now but no toothache in particular.
But I do believe that those protruding teeth make my smile a little wider than it should be. 😅 Fyi, this is my own theory.
Well, doctor said prevention is better than cure right? So I still have to persuade myself to do the extraction.
I promised myself that I’d get them removed before getting married or getting pregnant or turning 30. I don’t want to deal with things like this when I hit those milestones. Well, I’m now engaged so the time is now!
Omg. I couldn’t believe myself when I called the dentist in late morning to make appointment 3 hours prior. I couldn’t believe myself when I drove myself back to Klang for the appointment too.
After 5 years of procrastination and denial, I was finally doing it. I finally conditioned my brain to accept the fact that I have to pay lots of money to remove 2 healthy teeth.
I lied on the reclining chair with the dental x-ray I took 5 years ago, ready to say goodbye to my 2 teeth. And my doctor told me I have to remove 4 teeth.
Wait. What?!
He showed me my x-ray and indeed there’s 1 wisdom tooth at bottom left that went the wrong way and will cause havoc to the other teeth. This requires surgery. 😰
There’s another wisdom tooth at top right that is a loner all the way at the back. There’s no sign that the bottom right wisdom tooth will appear so the fella who came out nicely is useless. 😑
Wisdom teeth are not very wise, are they? I thank my brain for the selective memory about the problematic wisdom teeth or else I wouldn’t have brought myself into the clinic… Click here to find exceptional dentistry specialists, whose professional behavior reassures you.
So back on the reclining chair, the dentist said, “I suggest you remove 3 today. All 3 useless teeth at the top. 2 via extraction and 1 via surgery. Leave the other 1 for next time.”
I bet my face turned pale. I asked him 101 questions, like if I can go for my trip this Saturday, if I can play, if I can go to the beach, if I can eat, etc. #priorities #firstworldproblem
I don’t think I said OK. I probably just gave him an unconvincing “Hmmm” and lied back down on the reclining chair.
In the midst of my 101 questions, he put some numbing gel into my mouth and asked me to close my mouth. Smooth move, doc.
He then injected anesthetic. I made sure I made some noise when I felt pain…just in case I’m not supposed to feel pain you know. Not sure if he appreciated my feedback though.
Anyway, I got chased out of the room for a minute so that he could attend to a girl for extraction. Her extraction took less time than my earlier negotiation with the dentist. Oops. Learn more here on efficient dental services.
When I got back on the chair, the dentist spent 10 minutes scaling my teeth. I spent 10 minutes wondering how I’d survive the upcoming extraction.
Then it started.
I told him not to show me any blood because I’m scared of blood. And honestly, after my experience installing chemo port with local anesthetic, I’m just traumatized to need to stay awake during any surgery. I rather they just knock me out.
I closed my eyes and felt him look for the
Alas, after what seemed like a tug of war between my dentist and my healthy tooth, 1 let go.
You know what’s scary? I heard my tooth got smashed a little bit. I could hear the calcium getting crushed a little bit under pressure. I thought it crushed into pieces so I was getting ready to stay on the chair for a very long time.
Then I heard another calcium block crushing. Oh man.. Poor guys. Healthy yet useless, thus eliminated.
I questioned about life. I wondered how dentists bring themselves to be tooth extractors, especially the healthy ones. And how many arm days they have to do at the gym to be strong enough to fight strong tooth like mine.
From time to time, I reminded myself to relax. I wasn’t feeling any pain anyway, except when the dentist was trying to rip my lips apart.
And suddenly, I felt thread on my tongue! Oh no! Is he stitching me up? I was too afraid to open my eyes. But at the same time I hoped he was stitching me up. It’d mean he’s done with the surgery!
I was so pleased when he moved on to the other side of my mouth. One side, done! I was just thinking about calling it quits!
The other side wasn’t as bad as the first tooth. I still heard the crushing of my tooth and I made noise out of fear. The dentist thought I was in pain so he numbed me more. 😅 He then pulled the tooth out while pushing my face the opposite direction. I felt like a toy.
Anyway, suddenly he stopped and asked me to gaggle. He removed his gloves and mask, and said he’s done. I turned to the clock and noticed 20 minutes passed since the first extraction.
Phew. I thought it’d take longer! Actually I spent about 50 minutes all in on the chair but it didn’t feel that long because the entire process got broken down into different phases.
And I survived! 3 teeth and RM1290 gone. Mission accomplished. I drove myself back home and am now starving because I’m afraid to remove the gauze and eat. Can I just do nothing and starve till forever, please? 😭
P/s Please excuse me for being dramatic over my non complicated wisdom tooth extraction. Proves why many think dental visits are scary.