I finally had to visit the little shop of horrors. The dentist’s.
I have successfully avoided seeing a dentist until last Saturday. If I could have made it there Friday night, I would have. I'd have sacrificed anything to make the pain go away. I felt hot, I felt cold. I wanted to be dressed, I wanted to be undressed. I wanted to cry and cry I did. At some point I couldn’t even tell which tooth was the problem. They all felt like culprits. I was ready to leave the house by daylight. Here's the funny thing, despite the pain, I used the longest route to get there because I am a wimp. To be honest I was quite eager not to get there and by the time I did, I was regretting that decision. When the nurse asked if I was in pain I just looked at her wondering if she was being sarcastic. I mean, couldn’t she read my face? Wasn’t the pained look visible enough? Isn’t she trained to see these things without me having to utter a word?
I was fortunate enough to be the second patient of the day. The first was this young girl who came out smiling with three gold stars stuck on her face. Her toothless grin gave me a little reassurance that I wouldn’t die in there. It also told me a little about the dentist in the next room. Then came my turn. On a normal day, I would have run away from the frightening room with all those drills, pliers and ‘pipes’, but I didn’t. The offending tooth or teeth had to get out. The fact that I was willing to lose a couple of teeth goes to show how much pain I was in. So I sat down on the chair (quite comfortable by the way) while the motherly dentist kept reassuring me. “You won’t even feel a thing.” So I opened up. Real wide. For a while there, I struggled with exactly where I was supposed to place my tongue. After the initial assessment she decided to do a root canal and two fillings on the left side. Lower jaw. When she said that we had a lot of work ahead of us, I almost died. I look at my teeth every other day in the mirror and think ‘not too bad’. Well, the joke was on me. I need a few more fillings, cleaning and whitening. Maybe the look on my face got to her because she offered a discount. Or maybe she's just a good business lady who's looking forward to my return. But I was down for anything that would make the pain go away. So when the slight prick of pain from the numbing injection came, I didn’t even flinch. It was nothing compared to the pain from the toothache. Okay, I lie. Maybe I flinched. But it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.
Half an hour or so later, with a numb jaw, I was in the chair awaiting my nightmare. I panicked when I saw her reach for the drill. I kept fidgeting with my hands and I was praying for the nurse to hold my hands. That did not happen. Apart from the initial discomfort, there was really no pain. Besides, she kept numbing me. I was also glad she had the suction tube so I didn’t have to keep spitting. A lot of drilling, flossing, filling, grinding and bleeding later, I was done. It didn’t take as long as I anticipated but that was not something I was going to complain about that. I couldn't wait to get out of there. As I was walking out I was wondering how I would let everyone in the waiting room know just how brave I'd been because... Two fillings and a root canal! For a wimp, I did good.
My love for dentists was at the lowest possible level until Saturday. I’m not saying that I suddenly love them, and I can't believe that I'll have to be back there in two weeks, but I said a small prayer for Dr.Lillian. I still feel a little pain here and there but I've seen that it's to be expected, thanks to Dr.Google.
Here's why we should all have regular dental check-ups:
- To save your teeth. Obviously. This is by preventing tooth decay and gum disease which can be caused by the buildup of plaque.
- To keep your pearly whites white and bright. Stains caused by coffee, tobacco, tea, etc. ought to be removed regularly.
- To keep bad breath at bay. Halitosis is not cute. A fresh and clean mouth, free of tartar and plaque, makes you feel and look better.
- Saves you money. A dental checkup is relatively inexpensive. Treat your teeth as you would your car. If not maintained regularly, it will definitely be costlier down the line. Scrimping on it comes back to bite you in the ass later. I should know.
In the meantime, I'll be spending every minute praying for a miraculous 'restoration' of my teeth to avoid going back there.