Go on - Get 'em out! (Toothcare in General)

Member Name: raynor238

Product:	Toothcare in General
Date:	26/04/01 (47 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Get it done early

Disadvantages: 1 week of looking and feeling like the losing boxer

We all hate dentists. A visit to the dreaded orthodontist ranks up there for some people alongside arachnophobia or the fear of flying.

Most phobias however are regarded as irrational. What is irrational about being afraid of having a masked man probing into your mouth, and drilling into your second most sensitive region?

As a child, I was forced to visit our dentist on a regular basis. Every six months the time came when panic set in and the journey began. Maybe because of these visits, and the advice that came from the kindly old man, or maybe because I have simply been very lucky, but I had never had a filling, drilling or extraction.

However this was all to change.

I was 24. Habit had kept me visiting the dentist long after common sense had told me to flee. My dentist performed the examination as normal, filled in his records, but instead of the expected smile, and the 'Thank you, no problems, you can go' I was greeted with rather a stern frown.

Apparently my wisdom teeth were growing at an abnormal rate and were trapped under my rear molars. I had felt no pain or discomfort, but his advice was for extraction. All I could think was 'B****r off, if there's no pain, then I aren't going to create any' but he was quite insistent. He kept warning me that one morning I would wake up in agony and then probably have to wait a month or two before they could be removed.

I took the X-rays and reluctantly signed the forms.

Six weeks later I was admitted to hospital. Nothing to eat for 24 hours (which was agony - I really struggle without my beloved food) and off to bed in a skimpy apron which displayed my butt to the entire ward.

First thing the next morning, the ward nurse caught me off guard with a quick jab into my backside. I didn't really enjoy being tricked, but I am not exactly the world's biggest needle fan, so I didn't complain. The next ten minutes were grea
t, as the pre-med had me drifting in and out of sleep, and gently hallucinating.

I vaguely remember being wheeled into the theatre, and a small man with an abnormal number of heads telling me to count to 5. I think I got to three and slept.

The next thing I knew, I was awake and feeling bloody rough. Imagine your worst ever hangover and double it. I couldn't feel much around my face, but what I could sense was that it was big. My cheeks were puffed out like a hamsters, as if I had decided to store a couple of golf balls in there, and my tongue was numb, and hanging out of my mouth like a bloodhound.

I drifted in and out of sleep some more, until I was visited by my family. I was quite put out by their looks of disgust aimed at me, until they pointed out that I obviously couldn't feel the large amount of bloody saliva collecting in and around my mouth which was being gently sprayed at them every time I spoke.

That afternoon I was discharged, and sent home for a week of pureed meals. At this point it is probably a good time to mention the nursing staff who looked after me. The NHS are much maligned, but I doubt very much that going private would have resulted in me having better treatment. Whilst there, I was made to feel like the most important patient in the hospital. Every single one was a credit to their profession.

After a couple of days, when the swelling had gone down, I was well enough to go to the pub. I managed a few pints, which seemed to react marvellously with my painkillers. I even managed a pack of peanuts (by managed, I sucked them till they ran out of flavour and filled the ashtray with the slimy remains).

When I went back for the check-up, I was horrified to learn that the bit of meat that I had been trying to dislodge for the past week was in fact the tail-end of my stitches. I thought that they had just yanked my teeth out, but apparently, they cut open your gum and saw your jawbone at t
he side in order to pull it out sideways.

Obviously, I cannot comment on whether I would have had any problems if I had not chosen the extraction, but since the op, I have had no trouble whatsoever. I know of many people who have had major problems with their wisdom teeth, and who were not offered the same treatment as myself.

All I can say is, that if problems are forecast, and you are given the chance, put aside your fears and go for it. It wasn't that painful, and you could save yourself a lot of misery.

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