The Loss of Wisdom Joe

I feel liberated - I had my wisdom tooth removed just an hour ago. The right side of my face is still numb, and I still can't feel the pain, but the dentist has prescribed tons of pain killers - I can't wait...

This wisdom tooth- let's call him Joe, had been troubling me for over 3 years. It hadn't grown straight, but was instead derailed from the track of my other teeth... and Joe decided to grow the area where the flesh was thickest so that part of it would never see the light of day. Because of this, my gums around the area was always infected.. gave me bad breath and irritation.

So this holiday, I went to a dentist, Dr. O. As I was in the dentist chair, he pulled out a F***ing large steel needle- the length of my index finger to my wrist, and put it besides a tray of scissors and sharp instruments that he would use on me. It was nerve wrecking. But the needle contained anesthetics which worked wonders, and numbed the entire right side of my face.

Then he told me " Your tooth is quite near the nerves- so maybe after the extraction, the left side of your lips may be numb for a few weeks, maybe a few months - but don't worry, it's nothing serious." *gulp*

Half an hour later, he started the operation. I could see him take a scissors and cut away at my flesh (remember, Joe was partly hidden) - then he stopped. And turned to another doctor, and was in deep discussion- on how close my tooth was to the bone, and whether it was worthwhile to cut into my bone, and the nerve damage that I may experience- all this while I had my mouth open. I was so scared and so ready to just tell them to stop and leave the practice there and then.

Luckily for me - my irritation with Joe got the better of me. He was a tremendous pain in the mouth. And luckily, Doctor O decided to stop quizzing his other doctor. When he went down to it - it was quite crude- he held my chin, and pulled- and pulled- the way you would pull a heavy tree trunk out of your path- with brute force. Well, it felt like brute force, but I am sure doctor knew what he was doing - and Joe was out of my life even before I realised it.

Dr.O told me that that although this was an operation and surgery, it was simple extracting Joe, and hence, he would just charge me the rate for a tooth extraction, so I had to pay $40 instead of $300. When I told my mum, she said the trauma was worth it- for the price we were paying.
So much for unconditional motherly love. Anyway, I am glad that it's over. Thank god I only have 3 more wisdom tooth... Now I'm going to take my pain killer and be pampered the entire day