“Trips to the dentist – I like to postpone that kind of thing.” This is a quotable quote attributed to American actor, producer and musician, Johnny Depp. He is not the only person who hates visiting the dentist. Many of us see pain when we look at the dentist.
“Be true to your teeth and they won’t be false” is another quotable quote attributed to Soupy Sales. “Brush your teeth everyday. To keep dentist away” is yet another quotable quote. I was a firm believer in these quotes.
I diligently brushed my teeth after meals and before bed for decades. One day, despite brushing my teeth constantly, I woke to find cavities in my teeth. Just like Johnny Depp, I had postponed my trips to the dentist. Before long, the teeth went missing one by one.
Finally, I could not smile because I lost my front teeth. I had no choice but to drag myself to the dentist, hoping that I could get a new smile. Knowing that it was normal for people to experience tooth loss as they aged for one reason or another was no consolation for me. A friend of mine told me he had to fork out RM350 just to have a tooth extracted at a private clinic in Kuching City.
I went to the government clinics at Kota Sentosa, UTC (Urban Transformation Centre at Padungan and at Tanah Puteh. Never mind the long queues. It is the rate that matters; these clinics charge from RM1 to RM2 for a tooth extraction.
But if you are waiting to do your dentures, you are in for a long, long wait. You are advised to pull out all the bad teeth first. However, you can only take out a tooth once in every four days. An acquaintance told me that her colleague, a woman, once took a day off to extract all the teeth in her upper jaw.
The acquaintance was not smiling when she told the story, so it must be true. Was the colleague brave or plain foolish to have all the teeth extracted in one day? The thought of going to a dentist to have a tooth extracted makes me weak in the knees. A quotable quote attributed to Ogden Nash says “ Some tortures are physical. And some are mental. But the one that is both is dental”.
How true! Before pulling out a tooth, the dentist will anesthetize (numb up) both the tooth, the bone and gum tissue surrounding it. As I sit in the dentist’s chair, I try not to flinch at the sight of the tools used. The dentist,usually a young woman, tells me to relax, keep my eyes open all the time and to cooperate.
This, to me, is a high order to meet as tears come to my eyes automatically. After the dentist has administered the anaesthetic, she asks me to rinse my mouth in the toilet and wait for the numbness to take effect. Thank God for the invention of the mobile phone which keeps me occupied as I wait to be called back to the dentist’s chair.
During my last visit to the dentist, the tools she used to grasp my tooth reminded me of pliers. When I googled the name of the tools, I was surprised that they were really called dental pliers or forceps. According to an online website, a dentist will almost always begin the extraction process using an elevator to loosen the tooth up as much as possible before switching to the use of forceps.
A dentist will grasp a tooth with her forceps and then slowly yet firmly rocks it back and forth as much as it will. She may use quite a bit of force but it will be controlled and deliberate. Because the bone surrounding the tooth is compressible, the socket will gradually start to expand. As it expands, the range of the dentist’s side-to-side motions will increase.
Besides the rocking movement, the dentist will also rotate the tooth back and forth. This twisting action helps to rip and tear the tooth away from the ligament binding it in place. Soon, the socket will be enlarged enough and the ligament torn away enough for the tooth to be easily removed. Many friends asked me whether the extraction process was painful.
“Yes,” I replied. “Really?” “Yes.” “That’s why I hate going to the dentist,” said one of them. I’ve learnt that the best time to have a tooth extracted is in the morning. The other day, I went to the dentist in the afternoon around two o’clock.
The dentist wanted to take out two teeth that were side by side on the lower jaw. So, she numbed up both teeth. Later on, however, she aborted the extraction of the second tooth because too much blood came out after she pulled the first tooth.
She told me to go home and relax and avoid drinking hot drinks. I was feeling fine but I guess, the dentist was being extra careful. I appreciated her concern and reminded myself to visit the dentist only in the morning from then onwards.
My niece, Ah Hong, was very sympathetic when she learnt about my visits to the dentist. Knowing that I am a fan of South Korean dramas, she told me:” Many South Korean film stars and singers do not have good teeth, too.
Some of them go for dental implants.” If you have tons of money to spend, such preference is not surprising. Otherwise, you just opt for dentures. When I was growing up in Sibu, there was a popular Christmas song by a little girl called “All I Want for Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)”.
At that time, I thought it was a weird title for a Christmas song and wondered why the little girl was making such a big fuss over two missing front teeth. Now, decades later, I know why.
