So, I went back to the dentist near my apartment yesterday and instead of pulling my tooth, he took a laser to it and cut off a bunch of the gum around it and said to come back tomorrow for the same procedure! WHAT?! I don't want the gum cut, I want this stupid painful tooth out!
So, when I got to school this morning, I told Okk and NaRae (another teacher) what happened and that I was in more pain this morning than ever. Luckily, NaRae speaks English perfectly AND is related to a dentist that specializes in wisdom teeth extraction! So, she immediately called and made me an appointment for this afternoon! Talk about an answer to prayer!
So, after classes were finished, Okk and I jumped in NaRae's car and drove the 45 minutes to the PNU area, where the dentist is! THANK YOU NA RAE!
We arrived in the area while the dental staff was at lunch, so we stopped in at Mr. Donut to grab something to eat! They both said, you should eat a lot, because you'll be really hungry after the surgery and won't be able to eat anything! So, with their excellent advice (wink, wink) I ordered myself two yummy glazed donuts and a berry smoothie!
Then, when 2:20pm came around, we packed up and walked over to the dentist office nextdoor! The girls both came back with me to talk to the dentist about my condition and what had happened at the previous dentist! This was so nice, and so much better than me trying to explain it on my own! The language barrier seems to feel much larger when the topic at hand is medically related! I don't know all those big fancy words, you know?! Luckily I have two wonderful bi-lingual friends who could translate for me! Once everything was worked out and the dentist agreed to take out my wisdom tooth, the girls headed over to the waiting room, and chatted till I was done! (All of these pics were taken with my iphone, hence the less than great quality!)
Within about 2 minutes of sitting down, he gave me 6 shots into my gums! I may or may not have cried during that part! I'm 30... I'm a big girl... but ouch! 6 shots into my gums! NO THANK YOU! At this point, I was clawing at the arms of my chair in excruciating pain!
After the shots were given, my face quickly numbed up and my smile became crooked! This, of course, made me laugh, and in turn, everyone else laugh! I was taken to the Xray room, where they took 1 Xray, and then sent me back to my chair. Within a minute, this image popped up on my individual TV (attached to the chair) and he explained what was happening with my teeth! Don't mind the multiple fillings... I ate Jolly Ranchers like it was my job as a kid!
The tooth on the far right is my wisdom tooth! I hate that tooth!
While the shots were definitely painful, the actual tooth extraction was PAIN FREE! Thank goodness! Something I thought was kind of funny was they set this green cloth over my face, with a little hole over my mouth and nose, so I could breath... but everything else was covered up. Maybe they don't like making eye contact with their patients, so they cover us up! haha. The dentist yanked and chisled, and yanked and chisled some more, for about 10 minutes, until it was all extracted!
Then he stitched me up, threw some gauz on the hole, told me to bite down and not talk for 1 hour, said farewell with a smile, and sent me home!
Stubborn little tooth!
I think it's worth noting that for 6 shots, an X ray, and a wisdom tooth extraction, my total dentist bill, without dental insurance, was 21,100 won ($20.04)!! And, my prescription pain medicine and antibiotics were 1,300 won ($1.23)!
I was told that the worst pain will be tomorrow... but, for now: my aching wisdom tooth is GONE... The pain meds are currently in full effect... I'm comfy in my bed about to watch a movie... and I'm about to eat ice cream and mashed potatoes for dinner... !
What more could I ask for?!
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