Dental Visit

I can't remember when was the last time I've seen a dentist, probably in Secondary school. The hole in my tooth had been there for quite some time. I kept my finger crossed that nothing serious would happen , but getting food particles inside could be annoying. I had to use the toothpick after every meal.

The nightmare finally came a month ago. There was a sudden pain on my left jaw that affected the whole of my left head. My left side was so painful that I could hardly sleep. Okay , the time had come. I had to go to the dentist, scared or not. The dentist was shocked that I had not been to a dentist. More embarrassing , he said my teeth were too dirty and had to be cleaned before dealing with the hole. And so all the cleaning and filling up the hole took only 20 mins. Not that bad, no pain. BUT.... the cost ...... $140......pain in the heart!

All went well until a week later, the same pain came again.. on the left side again. Thinking that the filling was giving the problem, I went back for a checkup, hoping that no charges would be made. Boy, was I wrong! It was another nightmare in the dental clinic . I couldn't believe it myself, two visits within a week, when I have not stepped into one for the past twenty odd years! The dentist said it was my wisdom tooth that's giving me problem. I had to take an x-ray, which cost money of course. It revealed that I had 4 wisdom teeth... ha... wise yah! And two had holes, the one giving problem was the one with a bigger hole. So what now? I was left with no choice but to extract it. The nightmare started when my left jaw had to be numbed. The sensation was horrible. Then came the pulling part. It was worse than I thought. It took almost one hour , then the dentist said I needed a surgery as the tooth had a third root still stuck in the gum. Do I have a choice? So I don't know what he did , what he sliced up. I almost wanted to tell him to forget about the root, I wanted to quit and go . After another hour of pulling ,twisting, changing of tools , whatever...., the stupid stubborn root was finally out! Phew! It's almost like having a baby! My mouth was so tired after trying to keep it open for so long. I couldn't wait to get out of the room. I don't want to think about the other wisdom teeth that I may have to extract too.

The next pain.... the cost.... $560!!! Luckily It could be paid using medisave. Wah.. no money how... die of pain? No wonder people say, poor people cannot get sick, but they can die!

I guess coming to forty years old, means a lot of health problem coming , too. I have to get prepared for more health problems . I have done my yearly paps smear. Now I have to check my teeth yearly , too. And I have yet to go for mammogram and blood test to check my glucose level . Sigh.... it's so good to be young!