Well, I had these 2 troublesome wisdom teeth for the longest time at my lower jaw, like at least 15 years ago. They are troublesome because they did not erupt vertically as the should, but grew at a near 90 degree angle. And they did not grow fully, but just emerged enough to be seen, but not enough to be gripped and extracted.
Them growing at such an angle also means food and such gets lodge in between the gap of my last molar and the wisdom tooth, especially on my left side.
So you say leh, troublesome or not?
My previous dentist (whom I super miss!) already asked me to have them removed asap as she said by the time we found out the damage, my molar might be damaged too as it is difficult to see the cavity in between there. But I didn't do anything to it as I was afraid of surgery, and I would rather wait and see.
Then sometime last month, I felt my cavity in my left wisdom tooth got bigger. So I paid a visit at Smile Bay Dental last month. And Dr. Tow told me that the cavity is now bigger and is better to remove it than wait 'til it touched a nerve which would be very painful then. She doesn't do surgical, and she introduced me her husband Dr. Andy who can surgically removed for me in Smile Bay.
I went home and did some googling and asking friends on it. Many friends recommended me a few dentists, but in the end I went to Dr. Heng from Adventist Hospital, largely due to
Winnie who just did hers there not so long ago and she recommended it too.
So the following week, I went there with hubby, feeling totally scared. Look at my face.
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| 3 July 2013 |
My heart was beating damn fast, and there was as if a big rock on top of me. I was literally shaking. I hate dentists and so scared of them, especially when I know what they were going to do to me!
Yes, being such a google savvy person is not good.
I knew before going in that the procedure was roughly going to be:
First, a few injection to numb my mouth. Then slit open my gums. And then break the bones as my whole tooth is beneath it. Then saw my tooth to several pieces and extract them out.
So tell me, doesn't it sound scary to you?
While waiting, the nurse asked me to go take an x-ray. I wore a heavy plumbum clothing on top and took an x-ray after signing a document which says "I am not pregnant".
When my number was called, I went into the room alone (hubby went to run some errands). I glanced at Dr. Heng and was glad that he looks gentle, and not fierce, and then I gave a sigh of relief. And then I told the doctor I am so afraid. Dr. Heng assured me that this is a simple procedure and is just like doing a filling.
(I didn't tell him that I did too much googling and I know exactly what he is going to do to me!)
And I also told the doctor of my concerns of the medicine and painkiller being used as I am a breastfeeding mum. He took note.
I sat on the chair, and the next thing I knew, I saw him holding a syringe with a very long and sharp needle for some anaesthethic. I knew the needle had to be long to be able to reach the back of my mouth, but boy, it looked damn scary! And then I was given 3 jabs. To be honest the jabs didn't hurt much. It just looked scarier! We waited for 5 minutes for the jabs to take effect. Dr. Heng told me half of my mouth and part of my tongue should feel numb to the touch. I told him there was a little numbness and that was all, still could feel my own pinch very well. So he added another jab for me, and after that more numbness set in.
It was nothing like epidural. I could still feel the touch, just that the left part of my mouth was numb and I felt that it was puffing up and swollen, but it wasn't. It was just the numbness.
Dr. Heng then put a square hard sponge for me to bite gently so that my mouth has a big enough gap for him to work on. I felt so uncomfortable as it was way too big for my mouth. My mouth wasn't resting. I tried to ignore my uncomfortableness though.
Then Dr. Heng started to do his work. I could hear the clanging of tools, and even the whirring of a motor. I guess it was the sound of me cutting my tooth into pieces.
As my mouth was opened too widely (due to the too big piece of sponge), I couldn't swallow my saliva properly. So when some saliva went into the back of my throat, it caused me to gag rather suddenly. So I jerked a little to cough.
That was when Dr. Heng said what I was doing was dangerous as he was cutting my tooth. Any sudden movement of mine might led him to accidentally cut my tongue!
I told him that this sponge was too big and I couldn't close my mouth enough to allow me to swallow. But he said the sponge is necessary so that my mouth has a gap big enough for him to work on.
So I had no choice but to continue biting that damn sponge. And then it happened again. Saliva crept into the back of my throat which led me to suddenly jerk up to cough.
Then the dentist asked the nurse to remove my sponge, and just asked me to open my mouth for him.
So I happily rested my poor mouth. Only then I realized how sore my mouth was to be kept open so wide. And once the sponge was removed, no more incidents of sudden jerk or movement!
Bravo to me!
Dr. Heng finished the job in about half an hour. In the last 5 minutes or so, I could see him suturing my gums as he used a very long thread that went up and down. No sharp pain though.
After that, we discussed about the painkillers I was going to take back home. He gave me some paracetamol and told me they were safe, but might not work so well. He gave me some ibuprofen and said to take only when I couldn't stand the pain, but a little of it might go into my breast milk.
He said he would skip prescribing me the antibiotics for infection as I was breastfeeding, and would just gave me some mouth rinse, and asked me to take care of my oral hygiene.
He told me my cheeks would be swollen, and for the first 2-3 days only soft diet. And in about a week's time, everything would be all well.
The bill came to a total of RM759, inclusive of the x-ray scan, medicines, mouth rinse, etc.
I went home and after the numbness wore off, I could feel the sore and dull pain on my left cheek. And I totally couldn't eat for that first day as my mouth was real sore, and also no appetite to eat. The next day, the dull pain was still there, so I just drank some milo and some soup. Just 2 days and I lost 1.5kg.
Haha...now I know all my extra weight comes from binging on food too much!
Shern asked me to open my mouth to show him my 'pain-pain'. He saw the white gauze I bit on to stop the bleeding, and he thought that was the ulcer (He had ulcer before!). He exclaimed 'Wah...mummy, your ulcer so big ahhh'! Haha, damn funny!
I also had swollen cheek by the next day that looked like I had a sweet inside my mouth the whole time!
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| 4 July 2013 |
By the third day, I could eat and slowly opened my mouth to chew. Dull pain was still there but getting less. On the fourth day, it was way better and I could eat some rice and things that didn't require much chewing. But I could see my left cheek has a bruise (light green). But it was just noticeable by eyes, the pain was already much better than the first few days.
After a week, everything was well again, although I still did not dare bite anything hard on that side. And the thread came off somewhere then too.
I read online that many people has this swollen cheek and bruise, so I knew it was normal. Furthermore Dr. Heng warned me of that beforehand too.
However, some of my friends told me they had done it before or friends who had done it before and no swollen cheek! Hmmmm......I wonder if that is true, or their memory failed them! Haha.
Anyway, I want to say Dr. Heng is a good dentist, and I would certainly recommend him to anyone who intends to have their wisdom tooth surgically removed.
He was experienced in handling it, and an efficient dentist, and he confidently did everything in a fast, smooth procedure. He was also gentle to reassure me when I told him I was scared which I liked (I hate fierce dentists!). He was also mindful and took note that I'm a breastfeeding mum abd prescribed me meds accordingly.
Anyway, I have another wisdom tooth left, which I am NOT gonna remove it 'til it starts giving me problems. Although Dr. Heng is a good dentist, having swollen cheeks and dull pain ain't exactly my cuppa tea, you know?
***Please take note that this post is NOT sponsored. I went to the dentist myself and paid the dentist charges with my own money. All text and opinions are of my own
and represents my honest opinion of the product(s).
