Friday, May 15, 2009

The aching continues....

Oh no, no, no... Nothing so dramatic as a heartbroken etc..

For the past one year both my bottom wisdom teeth has been giving me a lot of problems. The infection gums and acheness. You see, instead of growing up like the other normal teeth, these two are lying down sideways embedded in my gums. Meaning the teeth want to grow but because they are lying sideways -they keep pushing all my other teeth where all the teeth dah senget benget (I can see it in the x-ray).. Dah la sideways, tak nampak plak tu. It's like watching the tip of an iceberg -- sikit je tipnye nampak -- the rest are all inside the gum.

Picture courtesy of US National Library of Medicine

I've been postponing the treatment for a number of reasons -

1. The doctor/dentist said there's a slight risk of my lips being permanently/temporarily numb -- this is because both of the roots are so very near the nerves that connects the brain and the lips. If they operate, they could hit the nerve and my lips could be permanently numb - scary.. so dok postpone la..but the risk is small about 5-10%.. but risk is still risk..

2. Secondly, I've been going back and forth about doing it as an operation -- meaning kena buat GA and admit hospital -- they put me to sleep and take out all 4 wisdom teeth (top and bottom). Or I could go to the hospital 4 times and do it one by one. By the way, I first went to a private dentist, it's going to cost me at least RM500.00 per tooth. And the dentist did not explain to me no 1. I went to the Klinik Kerajaan in Bangsar and they referred me to GH - under Jabatan Bedah Mulut. So all these was explained to me by the doctor/dentist in GH.

I've been asking a lot of people whether to do it one shot or do it one-by-one. Ada yg suggest suruh buat one shot - senang, sekali je sakit.. Ada yg suggest buat one-by-one sebab at least you can still eat one side if you do it one-by one..Kalau buat sekaligus, kot tak tahan la bila the anaesthetics has worn off..besides you can't eat for a while..

Anyway, been delaying for so long until my gums got infected again last week.. I had no choice, called up the hospital and set the appointment to do it one-by-one on the 14th May. It was done yesterday -- the experience was scary but I still got thru it alright. The were a lot of things going on inside my mouth -- I think there were 3 people standing around me at that time, the dentist was sweating like a p*g, I can see the droplets gracing the floor, I can smell the burning smell when he 'gergaji' a.k.a saw the tooth into 2.. (they had to do it this way because the roots are so strong and embedded into the gum). He said he have to buang the tulang2 disekeliling the gigi first, then baru boleh potong dua the gigi and then pull it out -- half by half.. All in all I think it took him about an hour to do the deed.. My right wisdom tooth is finally out -- after the anaesthetic has worn off, it was hurting so bad.. Nasib baik he gave me a very strong pain killers, I was able to sleep last night. I am on medical leave for 3 days -- yeah not going to the office with a swollen face, thank you..Besides, the doctor doesn't want the wound (which have to be stitched) to bleed. I'm going back next week to take out the stitch and to check my lips..It feels fine to me now but who knows -- tawakal aje la..

Wonder when will I go for the other bottom tooth.. emmmm...

4 comments:

Dalam Dakapan Ibu said...

Dear Anom,
Ngilu rasanya. I myself have been going to the dentist for the past 3 months (every week) for my root canal and crown. Nasib baik dah siap. Legaaa...

But yours mesti painful kan, especially with the strong roots. Isshhh... mak aaii sakitnya!

Take care ya ;)

wanshana said...

Ouucchhh!!! That sounds painful. But, if I were you pun, I'd rather bear with the pain from the procedure, etc. than having to endure the recurring infections, etc, kan? Sakit gigi ni boleh buat our life tunggang langgang, kan Anom?

Get well soon, and hope the procedures on the other three teeth will be smooth sailing :)

anom said...

Salam Kak Ja.. oh yes.. the pain is excruciating. Even on this 5th day, masih sengal lagi rasanya.. Especially the nerve just below the ear.. If I hear any drilling at this moment, I would probably faint kot..Makan painkillers pun macam takde effect dah..ishk tak tau la..

Thanks Kak Ja.. Am glad that your root canal treatment went well.

anom said...

Very true K. Shana..At one point, while waiting for the anest. to take on it's effect on me, I was thinking to myself -- " Do I really want to go through this now ? I have a wedding to take care of in a couple of weeks". On the other hand -- I was thinking "Takpe, at least during the wedding, I don't have to worry about getting the infection again.."

The biggest hikmah besides getting rid of the infection for good is that I feel lighter (as in weight-wise) sebab asyik makan bubur kanji, roti and susu je for the past few days..hehehe..(virtually laughing sebab in real life still painful to laugh).