Kuliling

location: office

mood: sleepy

music: Overkill -- Men at Work

     I wasn't a keen observer of my dental health.  It doesn't help too that I have a family of weak teeth.  I have always dreaded having to go to the dentist to be judged how many teeth do i need to have filled. 

     But since big bucks are being taken out of my paycheck for medical and dental insurance, I thought that I should take advantage of that...to sort of get the ROI from that.  So I did go to the dentist two weeks ago and was diagnosed to require a root canal on one of my tooth to save it. 

     I knew I needed that because the last dentist who has taken a look at my mouth (from two years ago...a handsome dentist from Dentista, SM Southmall Branch) already told me about that and actually did a root canal on one of my tooth as well.

     From what I knew, a root canal is an excruciating process from both the dentist and the patient. The last time I had it, I had two appointments and it took the whole afternoon to do it.  Anesthesia shots takes a while and even if my mouth feels thick and numb, I could still feel the pain whenever the doctor sticks needles into my nerves!  I also expected tired mouth muscles because of the mouth being dry and open for such a long time.  So I had an idea on how bad it's going to be and I was ready for my appointment this morning.

     I had the first session of my root canal today.  I had the morning appointment because I was bracing myself to have the whole morning session.  When I first sat down, there was a TV in front of me and a headset and the remote control was given so that I could watch TV on my own convenience and privacy.  It was like being in a business class flight.  Cozy...

     When I was given the anesthesia shots I wondered why I wasn't as numb and my gums didn't feel as thick as I thought it should be.  So I worried that during the process I might still feel the pain.  Ironically, once they had their hands on my mouth, it was smooth sailing, almost pain free and problem free!  It took a measely 1 hour to get the first session finished...and to think the dentist was even multi-tasking between me and two other patients!

     I started to feel the difference of being in the first world country vs being back home.  Don't get me wrong, my dentist from back home is not bad either.  It was a high tech facility from a Philippine standard.  I also thought my dentist from back home did a good job on my first root canal.  I guess it's just that there is more access to technology out here...and probably because dental services are more expensive so they have more money to invest on technology...I don't know...

     I guess I'm starting to lose my fear of going back to the dentist.