when the dentist's high-tech chair got stuck, i knew i should've run thru the door. but being the "well-behaved patient" that i was, i stayed til they got it to work.
i knew it wasn't going to be pleasant when my dentist asked her colleague, "nagto-topical ka ba? kasi ako hindi e." (do you use a topical? coz i dont.) my mouth clamped shut. my dentist was laughing, but i wouldn't budge. "topical, topical!" my mind chanted. but i realized i was just prolonging the agony. so, i opened my mouth wide. darn! lightning flashed before my eyes as the needle went into my gums. brighter flashes even as the anesthesia gushed thru.
after a few seconds, they were asking me if my lips felt numb. my dentist's colleague even pinched it lightly. "slight," i said. "why do they always say that?" my dentists asked her partner (in crime). "medyo (slight)."
so we wait for a few more agonizing seconds.
my dentist explains that the tiny tooth bits that broke off previously wasn't from my impaktong impacted wisdom tooth but from the tooth beside it, the one for which i suffered a root canal. darn again! all that sessions of torture only to have it break into tiny bits. my dentist says i'll have to get a crown, asap!
anyways...
"slice na ko ha?" (i'll start slicing.) is that my heartbeat i hear?
all my muscles tense, my nails dig into my palms. my body shivers - from the cold and the fear of anticipating what will come next.
it was a hot tooth (like the one for which i endured the root canal). despite 5 vials of anesthesia, i still felt pain. the impaktong impacted wisdom tooth was sooo big, my dentist had to section it into 3. she had a hard time pulling the roots out. turns out, the roots were curved, like semi-hooks planted deep in my gums. and they were touching on a nerve canal (which explains the pain despite the anesthesia.)
after more than 2 hours, it was time to stitch me up. "just keep your eyes closed." no way will i open them to see the needle and thread going in and out of my mouth. "ang kunat ng gums mo. nabali yung needle ko. pero that's good kasi ibig sabihin, kumakain ka ng gulay." (kaloy and wendy, help me with the translation of kunat. hehe!)
"do you want to bring the tooth home? as a souvenir?" huwat?!!??!!
i brought home enough souvenirs from that harrowing experience - a (still) swollen cheek, a small wound on my lips and pain (which i still endure).
even the painkillers gave me pain. turns out the meds my dentist gave me were too strong - gave me a heluva gas pain. my stomach's not yet back to normal...
the stitches come out on monday. hopefully, i'll emerge from that unscathed.
p.s. thanks for all those who left messages on my last post. if ever i lost weight, it doesn't show coz of my (still) swollen face. but you'll be surprised to learn i ate rice - at every meal. but i could only take in about 5 grains at a time which i could only chew on the left side. :P
