Letting go a part of me

No Turning Back

It's not easy for me to come to this decision but it has to be done. More than 17 years ago, I was given two choices and I could make the decision if I wanted.

However, now, that is no longer an option and I need to make the decision today.

The last few years really made me grumpy, have weird odours and sensitive to cold drinks despite using Sensodyne. It was when I wore masks during the Pandemic did I realise that I have a problem

The problem happened in the early 2020 (during MCO)when I felt part of my filling came off. Since we realised that the Dentist was from Singapore, there was a very high possibility that she was not in KL at that time and also, according to the news report, there was a section nearby her which was cordoned off by the authorities.

And so, after the MCO kinda relaxed a bit this week, I decided to make an appointment to visit the Dentist, thinking it's just a simple job of filling the tooth again and also, asking them to take a look at the side which I felt was a hole.

Oh, Boy.

Taking an X-Ray is quite painless. They just lay a think lead-line blanket over you, hide from the wall and then take the shot. It sounded funny but not for them if they need to do this at least a few times a week. Yeah.

From the X-ray. my left second molar was being pushed by my Wisdom teeth trying to come out. There is a gap between the two teeth and this is where the food that got lodged in started its destruction despite my cleaning carefully everyday. In the end, I chose to extract the rotting molar instead of the Wisdom teeth since this was the choice with less complications.

 

The Calculated Nightmare

This was a very difficult choice for me but then again, I more or less know what is coming. It's just that I was not emotionally prepared for such horrors such as a bloodied tooth and injections (that could punch through into the jaw?). Nevertheless, it was kinda fun and surreal that half my face went numb with the local anesthesia and I kinda fell asleep halfway. But after three attempts, it finally came off.

The Dentist used what I learnt later was called an Elevator (But it still looked like a pair of fancy pincers to me). He did ask me to close my eyes if I do not want to see the whole thing. I am still suffering from neck pain because I was instinctively fighting his left and right rocking motion during the extraction.

Finally, it is out and that black spot which gave off bad odours to the point of my Wife asking me to use mouth wash, can't drink cold water much and are like a sloth, to the detriment to everyone at the table.

The Aftermath

Well, after the blood has kinda clot and sealed up, I was OK. There was no pain even though the Dentist told me the anesthetics would wear off in three hours.

It just kinda feel weird to chew food  in one side of the mouth and if it felt funny, I know I would need to use my tongue to clear the excess food trying to hide in where the molar once was.

The Tooth

Yeah, I am keeping it and just have to find ways to clean and store it.