Wisdom tooth OUT!

The time now is 4.10pm on a hot sunny afternoon. Oww... I have just undergone my molar tooth extraction in the morning at around 11am at NDC. My 2nd surgery in my entire life so far! Below is the account of the whole day...

I arrived at NDC only at 920am although my scheduled time for the surgery is at 9am. :p I actually took my time to have a very good breakfast as I knew I would not be able to eat hard food for the next few days! Registered at the counter and then proceeded in to the surgery area after donning on paper caps and shoe covers and keeping my bag in a locker. Waited for about 30minutes (I did not have my watch with me as I was told to keep it away) before my dentist called me and then we went through one last check before finalising on extracting just the left lower wisdom tooth. I queried about removing 2, the upper and lower one. But since the upper one was not causing me pain or any problem, we shall just proceed on as planned earlier.

I was being ushered into a room and sat on the reclining chair that's so characteristic of a dental treatment room. The dentist washed his hands and gave me 2 jabs after the nurse 'sterilized' my mouth with some bitter antiseptic and saline. I know it was a gun filled with the local anesthesia(LA), but closed my eyes when the needle went into my mouth.

When the doctor injected the needle into my gums, I could feel the prick of my gums as it went in. A total of 2 jabs. I heard the gums 'pop'. Yikes! I tensed up. My feet especially. I simply detest the idea of sharp objects piercing through my skin. Argh. I have had this fear of needles since young. Although it seems to wear off a bit by this age, till this day and time there's still no way I can stand such actions.

I was relaxed all the way until I sat on the chair actually. As the dentist jabbed me, I had this crazy thought to run out of the room and go back to work! The reality of them cutting into my gums dawned on me finally and I really did not want to do this, I told myself. This is the 2nd time in my life that I?m having a surgery, albeit it's a small one, but it still involves using sharps to cut open a part of my body! And it?s totally unnatural! Ahhhh!!!! I have known this all along, but the importance of having a healthy and fit body further impacted me as a reminder. An operation has so many side effects and it can be so traumatizing too. Make incisions to the body certainly is not a natural act as that totally goes against Nature.

After the jab, they left me alone for a while to wait for the LA to take effect. I waited and looked around. The nurse soon came in and she was a very sweet lady who kept telling me to relax and also what she was going to do to me, such as cleaning my mouth and covering my eyes with a cloth. And the kind of feeling I would feel during the procedure. I have had a small operation to remove a piece of something that was blocking my front tooth from coming out when I was 11years old. So the entire setting was not totally alien to me. I did start to feel a bit nervous and she kept telling me to breathe normally through my nose. I was! I asked some questions and as she covered my eyes, I suddenly felt a bit more nervous and wanted so much to run out of the room again. :p

After about 20minutes or so, the dentist came over. Dr Lai. He asked me how I felt and I told him my tongue and gums and lips were feeling numb. He said it's alright and that that should be the way. If I should feel any pain during the procedure, I should just wave my hand. Yup. I pray not.

They did not warn me when the scapel was coming down, but I could feel it somewhat cutting into my gums. I think I imagined it too much. The nurse kept telling me to relax and think of pleasant and happy moments. The pressure was there. I could imagine the slice into my raw gums and blood gushing out. Argh. Ok, time to think of pleasant moments. I tried to think of Turkey, Istanbul, Iran, my friends that I met there and the travel scenes... However, with the pressure down on your face, there?s no way u can indulge in those beautiful memories. They just would not surface that easily. Hah.

The pressure was greatest when I felt the pulling and yanking of the tooth out of its site. There was a hand pressing against my lower mandible(jaw) and then the dentist pulling with all his might. Argh. Horrible feeling. It was at this time that the nurse told me to relax and think of other happy times even more. I tried! But had to split my brain between the memory of Istanbul and the present moment. Hah. It did not work basically. :p

It's over in about 20minutes? I could feel the stitches going throught he wound as they swept past my left cheek. And I heard the dentist stand up from his seat and left after telling me that it was over. The nurse tended to me and cleaned me up. I was given a gauze to bite to stop the bleeding. Then it was off to the resting area for observation.

After sitting there for 30minutes, a nurse who was really bubbly and friendly came over to me to teach me the 'what-nots' and 'to-dos'. As with all surgeries, I have to lay off from running and swimming and any other high impact exercises in order not to stimulate the bleeding. As exercise heats up your body, the increased blood circulation would result in the wound site bleeding. I heard from a friend that it would impact on the wound itself also, and it may rupture. Yikes! I cannot even stand thinking about that!

I made my way home after purchasing my medication over the counter. There's painkillers(Ibuprofen), antibiotics(Amoxicillin), anti-imflammatory(Serratio-Peptidase), Antacid and a mouth wash. The nurse told me not to brush my teeth today if I do not feel like doing so. And not to rinse my mouth as that may wash the blood clot away today. So, I would only resume my mouth cleaning routine from tomorrow onwards.

I took a sip of water from my bottle on the way back and thought that the cap was broken in half. Actually, it was just my numbed left half of lips that could not feel anything. The left half of my tongue and gums were numbed too and I had to drink the water with my right side of the mouth, otherwise I would choke. Gee. I had the experience of what a paralyzed person would feel like while eating. It's sad and you feel so helpless.

I came home and started having lunch at 2.10pm. It felt completely fine until the anaesthesia wore off at about 2.30pm after I just finished my lunch of wholemeal bread and tomato soup. Argh... I could feel the pain slowly coming back... It felt horrible. I could have taken the painkillers earlier but they are for consumption only after meal. I immediately popped 2 Ponstan which I have leftovers at home instead of the Ibuprofen which they gave me as the nurse told me that the painkillers need 1 hour to take effect. Ponstan was supposed to take only 30minutes.

Pain, pain, pain... The pain from was at its peak from 2.30 to 3.45pm when it finally diminished. Maybe it was the Ponstan working, or maybe it was just normal. I could finally be myself again and started doing things.

For someone whose threshold of pain is quite high, I'm not sure if I would ever allow myself to go under the knife again for the other tooth. It's painful and expensive. Like what my friend had said, this 5 days' MC certainly don't come easy!

The sun is setting as I'm typing this. How I wish I could go out for a run. It turned cloudy at 5pm and it was windy as well. Sigh. A big no-no. I want my gums to recover fast. I would opt for hikes instead. Just for this week. Going to feel so uncomfortable missing my work-outs.